Karl Rove reveals Gavin Newsom’s weakness as talk of 2028 presidential run heats up

California's governor is considered the front-runner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s record in California is a major liability if the Democrat wants the 2028 presidential nomination, according to former George W. Bush White House official Karl Rove.

Rove, in an opinion piece on Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal, faulted the progressive Democrat for his state’s high taxes and “lackluster economy.”

The Republican strategist alleged that California “no longer has the quality of life that was long a gigantic magnet for jobs and commerce” that it once was under GOP heroes like Ronald Reagan, who was governor of the Golden State before becoming president.

Newsom’s office declined to comment.

Rove also claimed another potential 2028 candidate, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, would have similar liabilities on the campaign trail.

Critics warn that California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s home state record on affordability issues could harm his 2028 prospects (AFP/Getty)

“Mr. Newsom has great hair and Mr. Pritzker a vast fortune,” Rove wrote. “But neither will matter nearly as much as their records as governor. Neither man can credibly claim that he has a solid record of economic achievement. That may not matter much to Democratic primary voters. It will in November 2028.”

Some on the left have voiced similar concerns, even as Newsom has emerged as a potential top pick for Democratic voters in 2028, alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris.

“During his tenure, the state has been a laboratory for some of the Democratic Party’s most politically fraught policies and instincts, which has left it less affordable and more culturally radical than it used to be,” Marc Novicoff and Jonathan Chait wrote in The Atlantic last month. “His record not only raises pressing questions about how effectively he could govern as president; it also provides opponents an endless buffet of vulnerabilities across social and economic issues.”

Throughout the last year, Newsom has worked to make himself a visible Democratic counterpoint to the media-dominating Trump, often trolling the president online and launching a podcast where he speaks with prominent conservatives.

Newsom has fashioned himself into the Democratic Party’s most visible Trump critic over the last year, frequently trolling the president online (Getty)

The former Bush administration official has been equally critical of the Republican record, as Washington braces for midterm season.

He warned late last year that the GOP’s continued inability to pass a long-promised replacement to the Affordable Care Act meant the party was in “deep trouble” and congressional Republicans were “scared to death of the midterm election.”

Rove, in a separate Wall Street Journal column, criticized President Trump, arguing the president’s often vulgar statements on pop culture news and rosy claims about a soaring economy don’t land well with voters whose main concern is economic affordability.

“Mr Biden and his allies looked disconnected from reality when they proclaimed ‘Bidenomics is working’ even as ordinary Americans struggled with inflation,” Rove wrote. “Telling voters not to believe their own lying checkbooks was politically insane. Mr. Trump is doing the same thing.”