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Locked out of power and three years away from knowing, with full certainty, who their nominee for president will be, Democrats remain adrift. They are hungry for leaders, for heroes, for national politicians who might, like a young Barack Obama, inspire them anew. The bench, for 2028, is relatively deep — there is no shortage of governors, senators, former Biden-administration officials, and stray outsiders who may enter the primary — but no single man or woman has emerged from the heap to captivate millions. Obama himself was far from inevitable this time 20 years ago, but he had already had his star turn at the Democratic National Convention in 2004.
No new stars were minted in Chicago last year. At least, none that are readily apparent.
But some Democrats are gaining more traction than others. If last year was brat summer, this summer — the second half of it, anyway — might belong to Gavin Newsom. His surge has been grounded in a native understanding of what at least part of the Democratic base desires. His social-media following has exploded as he’s started to literally post like Donald Trump, mimicking the president’s grammar and memes while mocking his supporters. The parodies, which include absurd AI images of himself, are shallow, but they’ve struck a nerve. The MAGA movement is furious and a lot of Democrats are delighting in it.
More crucially, Newsom has had the fortune to still be governor of California for another year as Texas attempts to gerrymander five new Republican-leaning House seats for the midterms. Unlike New York, where Governor Kathy Hochul won’t be able to retaliate with her own Democratic gerrymander until 2027, Newsom will be able to put an initiative on the ballot this fall that could overturn California’s nonpartisan commission and allow Democrats to counter Texas. Nationally, Republicans hold a clear advantage in this redistricting war, but California can, at the very minimum, neuter Texas. And if history is any guide, an anti-Trump wave may crest high enough next year to hand Democrats a House majority. The momentum in California is behind Newsom now, and he will probably get the maps he wants.
By unapologetically pursuing a gerrymander in California, Newsom has become a liberal hero at a time when the anti-Trump resistance, culturally at least, still lacks much of the passion and fizz it enjoyed eight years ago. Democratic leaders in Congress have failed to inspire the rank-and-file voters who are desperate to see Democrats punch back hard against Trump. Newsom, slick haired and telegenic, is eager to do so, and it’s becoming apparent that he has, at the very minimum, eclipsed the party’s last standard bearer. A new poll showed him running ahead of Kamala Harris in their home state of California — lousy news for Harris, who is still mulling another run for president after passing on the 2026 gubernatorial race. (Another Emerson poll, out of Ohio, showed him comfortably leading the whole Democratic field.)
Newsom is, inevitably, running for president. The greater question is if he’s an actual answer to what ails the Democrats. An anti-Establishment energy continues to permeate American politics — it’s why Trump was successful again last year, and Zohran Mamdani may end up the next mayor of New York City — and Newsom remains the consummate insider. He is a product of the San Francisco Democratic machine and will have been governor, by the time he exits due to term limits, for eight years. California itself has grappled with numerous challenges — deadly wildfires, rampant homelessness, and an ongoing affordability crisis — under Newsom, and it will be very easy for his opponents, Democratic and Republican alike, to pull from the headlines to damage him.
How far can meme wars take Newsom? With Trump, online popularity translated to the voting booth, but he had, in both of his winning campaigns, an obvious message to slash through the noise. He was against immigration, against foreign wars, and for protectionism. Unlike other Republicans, he didn’t campaign on cutting the social safety net (even if that turned out to be, as is much with Trump, a complete lie). Rhetorically, at least, he reoriented the GOP away from positions like a full embrace of austerity and free markets.
In this context, what does Newsom offer the Democrats? What is his grand vision for governing the country? Thus far, this has been the problem for the Democratic Party in the new Trump era. Still listless, it has not offered an effective counter-vision. What should Americans see if a Democrat is returned to the White House? What should they long for? Newsom is a strong anti-Trump communicator. His real test will come in 2027 and 2028, when he joins the fray in earnest and strains to distinguish himself. There will be no shortage of Democrats who can tell you, in memorable ways, Trump is abysmal. Some might even be able to meme. That alone, though, won’t thrill millions of voters and beat back the GOP. Gimmicks won’t be sufficient. Even politicians like Newsom don’t know this yet — they’ll learn soon enough.
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