On hidden camera, Newsom says DSA movement will become ‘dominant’ in Democratic Party
In a video released by Townhall, the California governor predicted that the Democratic Socialists of America movement will soon become “mainstream” within the party, saying there’s “no question about that.”
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, widely viewed as a potential 2028 presidential contender, predicted in a hidden-camera video that the Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) push for “bold change” will become a dominant force in the Democratic Party.
In the video, which Townhall released Oct. 26, a person who described herself as a younger voter told Newsom that she and others wanted to see the Democratic Party “move forward.”
“You know, we don’t want Kamala Harris,” she said. “We want, you know, more, I guess, democratic socialist policies. Where do you see the Democratic Party going?”
Newsom replied, “No one is arguing to manage the status quo and fail more efficiently.”
“So the DSA, the energy and the desire and demand for bold change — not incremental change — is very much going to be dominant,” he added. “I mean, that’s going to be a mainstream democratic movement. Absolutely. No question about that.”
“You can’t play in the margins anymore,” Newsom continued. “The whole — the system’s broken. It’s completely unbalanced, and we can’t manage the decline. We have to completely reimagine.”
Townhall said the exchange took place in mid-October while Newsom was campaigning in New Hampshire for Democratic congressional candidate Stefany Shaheen.
The remarks come amid debate among Democrats over the growing influence of democratic socialists, whose candidates and allies have won several party primaries this year. The DSA’s national program calls for allowing noncitizens and incarcerated people to vote, abolishing the U.S. Senate, defunding the police, eliminating prisons, abolishing capitalism and replacing it with democratic socialism, and sharply reducing U.S. military capabilities.
In a September PBS NewsHour interview cited by Townhall, Newsom said he believed ideas associated with the DSA were already part of the broader Democratic platform. He pointed to issues including getting “money out of politics,” “lowering costs,” and expanding Medicare to all Americans.
“If you have these candidates and this platform that is clearly animating the base, energizing turnout, should more of those ideas be worked into the broader Democratic platform?” PBS host Amna Nawaz asked.
“I think they are,” Newsom responded.
When Nawaz pointed to “a little distance” between party leaders and DSA candidates, Newsom said, “But not the ideas.”
Newsom has also argued against Democrats distancing themselves from democratic socialists, telling Politico in September that he’s “for a big-tent party.”
“It’s where a lot of the energy in the party is,” he said of the DSA. “So why would you ever dismiss that?”
Newsom told ABC affiliate WMUR Oct. 17 that he would likely decide whether he will run for president “around the beginning of the new year.” He added that he thinks the “vast majority” of contenders will announce they are running “in the next 60 to 120 days.”
Meanwhile, some progressives are promoting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as the preferred candidate in 2028, according to Townhall. A petition titled “DSA for AOC” calls on supporters to organize a potential presidential campaign and identifies goals including Medicare for All and a Green New Deal.
According to an October New York Times/Siena poll, 12% of self-identified Democrats chose former Vice President Kamala Harris as their preferred nominee, followed by Newsom at 9%, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 7%, and Ocasio-Cortez at 6%. Another 45% said they did not know.
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