For a good deal of this election cycle, Gavin Newsom acted very much like a person wanting to be president.
He traveled the country and ran TV ads. He raised billboards and debated Florida’s Republican governor on national TV, just a few weeks before Ron DeSantis’ campaign crumpled in a humiliating heap.
The not-really campaign was never an actual, serious run for the White House. First Joe Biden and then (o, bitter pill!) his sometime friend, sometime rival Kamala Harris stood in Newsom’s way. It was more like California’s restive governor was letting his ego loose for a bit of an off-leash romp.
Things changed after Nov. 5, following Donald Trump’s triumph and California’s notable shift toward the center-right on election day. Suddenly, Newsom started appearing in places such as Bakersfield, Redding and Colusa, among the ruddiest parts of red California.
It’s something the governor should have done a long time ago,…
