California Gov. Newsom Addresses Speculation of Potential 2024 Run

President Joe Biden is greeted by California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, on Nov. 3, 2022. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

California Gov. Gavin Newsom talked about his plan for 2024 recently during an interview with Politico, as speculation circulated that he will run.

Newsom, 55, reportedly told the White House that he will not challenge President Joe Biden in 2024 if the latter decided to bid for reelection.

“I’ve told everyone in the White House, from the chief of staff to the first lady,” he said during the interview, which took place on midterm election night.

He also reportedly told the White House that he vehemently supports Biden’s reelection.

He insisted that he would not run even if Biden didn’t run in 2024.

The Golden State governor said that he would not challenge Biden because infighting in the Democratic Party will hurt the chances of the party candidate’s winning in 2024, especially against two potential Republican candidates: former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Won Reelection by Narrower Margin

Newsom just won another four years as California’s governor in the midterm elections.

Though portrayed as a rising star in the Democratic Party by some media, Newsom apparently is losing steam in the solidly blue state.

He got 57.9 percent, or 3.2 million votes, in the midterm. Brian Dahle, his Republican challenger, had 42.1 percent, or 2.3 million.

Republican gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Brian Dahle poses at the state Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 28, 2022. Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

In the 2018 gubernatorial race, he won by a much larger margin with 61.9 percent and 7.7 million votes.

Midterm election data shows several factors acted in disfavor of the Democratic Party, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Emeritus Michael Barone wrote in an analysis.

Turnout worked against Democrats because it went down in big cities much more than in the suburbs. At the same time, traditional Democratic groups including Hispanic and Asian voters became less Democratic, he said.

Republicans Win House by 3.3 Million Votes

According to data compiled by the Cook Political Report, Republican House candidates received over 3.3 million more popular votes than their Democratic counterparts in the midterm elections.

Out of the total 106.6 million votes, Republicans beat Democrats with an advantage of 50.8 percent to 47.7.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas, Nev., on Nov. 19, 2022. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Charlie Cook, founder of the Cook Political Report, wrote on Nov. 14 that the Republican Party—with a 4.9 percentage point advantage at that time—would normally gain 20–30 seats in the House, but didn’t gain as many seats as anticipated.

“Simply put, Republicans picked up the votes they needed, just not where they needed them most. Clearly something or someone intervened, affecting the outcome of the election in the places that mattered,” he wrote.

Barone believes advances in the popular votes didn’t give the Republican Party more seats because of redistricting, and Republican voters are more concentrated than before.

However, the advantage in popular votes indicates the Republican Party could have a hopeful 2024.

“Republican House candidates won 58 percent of the popular vote in the South and 53 percent in the Midwest, two regions that together account for 298 of the 538 electoral votes. Duplicating that support is one way an unproblematic Republican nominee could top 270 electoral votes in 2024,” he wrote.