Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is the 40th Governor of California, first elected in November 2018 and re-elected in November 2022 with 59% of the vote; term limits bar him from seeking a third term when his current term ends in January 2027. Born in San Francisco in 1967 and educated at Santa Clara University, he co-founded the PlumpJack Group hospitality business in 1992, which grew into a network of wineries, restaurants, and hotels giving him a personal stake reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars. He served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, then as Mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011, and as California’s Lieutenant Governor from 2011 to 2019.
As governor, Newsom has pursued climate and clean-energy policy, including a mandate phasing out new gasoline-vehicle sales by 2035 and 2025 legislation aimed at electricity affordability; billions of dollars in homelessness funding alongside housing-production goals that multiple independent assessments say the state has fallen short of; and continued pursuit of major water infrastructure projects including the Delta Conveyance tunnel and Sites Reservoir, both of which have faced legal setbacks.
Newsom’s tenure has included significant controversies. In November 2020, he attended a 12-person indoor birthday dinner at Napa Valley’s French Laundry restaurant, including lobbyists for the California Medical Association, while publicly urging residents to avoid gatherings during a COVID-19 surge; his office initially suggested the dinner was outdoors before photos showed otherwise, and he later called it a “dumb mistake.” The episode helped fuel a September 2021 recall election, which he survived with about 62% voting against removal. In April 2024, California’s independent state auditor found that the state had “lost track” of outcomes for $24 billion spent on homelessness programs between 2018 and 2023; Newsom vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have strengthened spending-tracking requirements while separately imposing his own accountability rules on cities and counties. In June 2026, Newsom said he and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, had come under federal investigation by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice, characterizing it as politically motivated; reported elements include scrutiny of financial records tied to Newsom-associated businesses and roughly $1.9 million in donations solicited for his wife’s nonprofit. He has not confirmed a 2028 presidential campaign but has acknowledged considering one and has made appearances in early primary states.
