Gavin Newsom to run for US president in 2028? California governor sets January deadline

California Governor Gavin Newsom has said he will decide by early January whether to enter the race for the 2028 US presidential election, bringing his long-discussed White House ambitions closer to a formal decision. Newsom announced his timeline during a visit to Turkey for the COP31 international climate conference, where he also criticised President Donald Trump and described the recent midterm election results as a rebuke of the Republican leader.

“I’ll make the determination at the beginning of the year, so we’ll spend the next few weeks with the family and make a decision early January,” Newsom told Turkey's Anadolu news agency. The announcement comes as speculation grows over potential Democratic contenders for the next presidential election. Newsom, who has increasingly positioned himself as a prominent critic of Trump, has repeatedly hinted at a possible White House bid without formally declaring his candidacy.

During the interview, Newsom described the election results as an “historic rebuke” of Trump's presidency and said Democrats now had an obligation to offer voters a positive alternative. “Donald Trump’s presidency as we know it ended last week in the US,” he said, adding that those who succeeded in the elections must now focus on governing and providing a new agenda for the Democratic Party.

Newsom also used his Turkey visit to highlight California's climate policies and criticise Trump's decision to withdraw from international climate commitments. He met Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to discuss expanding climate cooperation between California and Brazil and finalised a new climate agreement with Portugal, according to his office. He also visited a forestry training centre to exchange lessons on wildfire management.

Newsom has previously indicated that former Vice President Kamala Harris's potential entry into the 2028 presidential race could influence his decision. In September, he told CNN that he would not contest the Democratic nomination if Harris decided to run. “I wouldn’t run if she ran,” Newsom said during an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper in Montana. He described a potential contest between the two Democrats as “mutual assured destruction”, citing their overlapping networks of supporters and political allies.

Newsom has also said that support from his family, including his four children, would be essential before making a final decision. “If they’re not on board, that’s a nonstarter,” he said. However, his presidential prospects remain uncertain. Recent prediction market figures cited by US media suggested that his chances of securing the Democratic nomination had fallen to around 7 per cent following the midterm election results. Newsom's January announcement could therefore provide an early indication of how the Democratic field for the 2028 presidential election is shaping up.