Gavin Newsom to Use $19 Million to Try and Fix California’s Tarnished Image

Gavin Newsom to Use $19 Million to Try and Fix California’s Tarnished Image

Gavin Newsom has basically been running for president since roughly the second year of Joe Biden’s sole term in office. The original idea, of course, was to portray himself as the “backup plan” to Biden in the event he later dropped out of the 2024 presidential race (which he, of course, did).

But then Democrats, with the backing of Biden, quickly rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee. This is something that undoubtedly did nothing but fuel the California governor’s desire to be president all the more, especially after doing cross-country and global tours to try and establish his presidential creds – only to have one of the most defining moments be when he mowed down a young Chinese boy on a basketball court in China.

California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom plows through a small child during a game of basketball in communist China pic.twitter.com/Kb9839BNq1

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 29, 2023

In October, Newsom confirmed for the first time publicly that he was giving serious consideration to running in 2028, which the L.A. Times conveniently pointed out was stated the day after Harris, a Newsom ally on paper at least, made a similar proclamation.

Newsom has already taken a number of steps in his upward climb toward a potential Democratic presidential nomination — most notably positioning himself as the leader of the anti-Trump resistance.

But there are other things, like taking veiled shots at Harris by recently mentioning her, ahem, special connection with married, longtime California Democrat mover and shaker Willie Brown, with whom she had an affair in the mid-1990s when she was 29 years old and he was 60:

Gov. Gavin Newsom: “You would not know Kamala Harris without Willie Brown”

2028 is starting early
pic.twitter.com/i8LOTSpw73

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 24, 2026

“I may have influenced her career by appointing her to two state commissions when I was Assembly speaker…And I certainly helped with her first race for district attorney in San Francisco” – Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, on dating Kamala Harris while he was married and… https://t.co/uG9911ym7y pic.twitter.com/nL8cTaYwcJ

— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) February 24, 2026

Something else Newsom is doing? Spending $19 million in taxpayer dollars to rehabilitate California’s tarnished image. Awfully convenient timing if you think about it:

The California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development is looking for bids on the plan, according to new documents — including a request for proposal updated Wednesday. One of the public relation’s campaign’s top goals is to “dispel myths driven by misinformation and political rhetoric.”

[…]

“Some look at this state and try to tear down our progress,” the request for proposal states. “They attack our values and caricature our culture. They distort the data to diminish our accomplishments.”

The “California Brand Campaign,” first reported by the Los Angeles Times, opened bidding Feb. 24.  The deadline for submissions is March 13 and the contract is anticipated to be announced April 6.

As speculation swirls over a potential presidential run, Gavin Newsom is set to spend $19 million on a marketing campaign to clean up California’s brand — aiming to "dispel myths driven by misinformation and political rhetoric."https://t.co/ZgnZPuDR0P

— Brett Stover (@BrettStoverCA) March 6, 2026

Newsom’s critics are calling it out for exactly what it is:

State Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks), who is vice chair of the Senate budget committee, said the language of the proposal request is concerning. He said it would make it easier to stifle criticisms of policies that he says make it difficult to do business in California.

“This is clearly part of the Gavin Newsom for President campaign, but what is most troubling to me is that this is a program to be developed by some private-sector contractor to define what is acceptable speech in the state of California,” Niello said. “That scares the stuffing out of me.”

Newsom? Trying to stifle his political opponents? Who woulda guessed?

Others characterized it as Newsom’s attempt to “put lipstick on a pig”:

Putting lipstick on a pig won’t fix Newsom’s record. Homelessness is up, high-speed rail is a disaster, Next Gen 911 upgrade lags, and now $19M of taxpayer money goes to a marketing campaign. Californians deserve real results, not PR.#caleg #fixCalifornia@CASenReps pic.twitter.com/8qTHIa13Bj

— Senator Tony Strickland (@SenStricklandCA) March 6, 2026

The only brand Newsom is trying to fix is his own, as Los Angeles independent mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt correctly pointed out:

Gavin Newsom says he doesn’t have a brand.

Sure he does.

People dying on our streets. Communities burning in wildfires.

And zero accountability. https://t.co/5idFxvlEjP

— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) March 6, 2026

No amount of money spent on “brand clean-up” can change that inconvenient fact. Not $19 million, and not $90 million.

– Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X. –

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