Besides the surplus, California Gov. Gavin Newsom touted $26 billion in direct state aid from the federal stimulus plan that Democrats passed in March. | Jeff Chiu/AP Photo

By Jeremy B. White
05/10/2021 08:24 PM EDT

The governor embarked on a road show to trumpet the fruits of an astonishing $75.7 billion state surplus thanks to soaring capital gains during the pandemic.

OAKLAND — Nothing smooths out political turbulence like having money to spend.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom embarked on a cross-state road show Monday to trumpet the fruits of an astonishing $75.7 billion state surplus thanks to soaring capital gains during the pandemic. His first order of business: tell Californians he wants to give them cash and pay some of their utility bills and back rent.

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California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) delivers his final State of the State address in Sacramento on Jan. 25. Democrats who want to replace him are aiming even further left in a state already known for its liberal politics. (Pool/Reuters)

By Scott Wilson
February 3, 2018

SACRAMENTO — For those who think California politics is on the far-left fringe of the national spectrum, stand by. The next election season, already well underway here, will showcase a younger generation of Democrats that is more liberal and personally invested in standing up to President Trump’s Washington than those leaving office.

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California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom leads the field of potential candidates for governor in 2018. (Jae C. Hong/The Associated Press)

Capitol Alert
By Christopher Cadelago
[email protected]
November 14, 2016

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is the early favorite to succeed fellow Democrat Jerry Brown in the 2018 gubernatorial race, as the state’s second-in-command holds large advantages among Democrats and independents, according to a new Field Poll.

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By Dan Walters
[email protected]
November 14, 2016 - 8:00 PM

A new poll indicates that Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is, by a wide margin, the leading candidate for governor two years hence – which shouldn’t surprise anyone.

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By Phil Willon
March 13, 2016

Welcome to your guide to the 2018 California governor’s race. The election may be far away, but listening tours are already underway, political consultants are doling out advice and pundits are handicapping favorites and wildcards.

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The politically powerful California Nurses Association announced Wednesday that it is endorsing Gavin Newsom for governor nearly three full years before the general election contest.

Cathleen Decker
December 6, 2015

Two things were evident amid the fusillades of confetti and extended glad-handing at last week’s endorsement of gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom by the politically powerful California Nurses Assn.

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Capitol Alert
By David Siders
[email protected]
October 14, 2015

• Antonio Villaraigosa and Gavin Newsom lead in early voter support
• Poll shows regional strongholds for former mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco
• With Jerry Brown departing, 2018 race likely to be wide open

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom hold an early lead in voter support in the 2018 race for governor, according to a new poll.

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In this photo taken Monday, April 20, 2015, Lt. Gavin Newsom speaks at the Californians for Safety and Justice conference in Sacramento, Calif. Newsom and former state Sen. Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, have teamed up with computer scientists at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on a web-based video search engine that they hope will democratize government by using the latest in voice- and face-recognition software to allow people to see, hear and read what their representatives are doing in the state capital. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

By Melody Gutierrez
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - Updated 12:23 pm

SACRAMENTO — Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a new online search tool Wednesday that he said will open up the way the California Legislature does business and radically transform state politics “from a world of promises to a world of participation.”

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By Michael R. Blood and Juliet Williams
Associated Press
03/30/2015 - 12:12 AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

Gov. Jerry Brown, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and other top elected officials in California acknowledge using personal email accounts to conduct government business, and it’s not clear if their private exchanges are retained as public records or subject to disclosure.

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By Josh Richman
[email protected]
Posted: 02/22/2015 10:16:32 AM PST
Updated: 02/22/2015 10:16:40 AM PST

Getting an early start is important for birds seeking worms and children hoping to get in a top college. But when it comes to prominent politicians angling for higher office, starting years in advance may simply allow more time for troubles to mount, political experts say.

So what the heck are Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom thinking?

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Former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom delivers a speech inside City Hall in San Francisco, after the U.S. Supreme Court made its ruling on gay marriage on June 26, 2013. (AFP / AFP/Getty Images)

By Seema Mehta
February 11, 2015

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that he has opened a fundraising account to run for governor in 2018.

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George Skelton, Los Angeles Times
January 15, 2015
george.skelton​@latimes.com
@latimesskelton

Who will be California’s next U.S. senator, replacing the retiring Democrat Barbara Boxer?

It’ll be another Democrat, bet on that.

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By Dan Walters
[email protected]
01/12/2015 11:29 PM

Barbara Boxer’s decision to retire from the U.S. Senate dissipates some of the fog that has been obscuring California’s political landscape.

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Monday, January 12, 2015 - 05:30 p.m.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barbara Boxer, who announced last week that she would not seek another term in 2016.

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By Joe Garofoli
January 8, 2015 - 12:51 PM

Nothing like a political power vacuum to elicit the quality present in all politicians: the innate ability to suck up.

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From top left, clockwise: Jerry Brown, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Antonio Villaraigosa, Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris are pictured in this composite. | Getty

By ALEXANDER BURNS | 7/20/14 5:29 PM EDT - Updated: 7/21/14 6:37 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES — The rumblings are early but unmistakable: A political earthquake is — finally — headed to California.

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California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, two of the best-known Democrats on the June 3 ballot, are widely seen as unbeatable. (Getty Images, Associated Press)

Michael Finnegan
May 17, 2014

Republicans trying to unseat Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris share a common complaint: The two Democrats are so confident of reelection that they’re already laying ground to run for governor in 2018.

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Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
February 7, 2014

Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom are among state officials who will receive warning letters in the California Fair Political Practices Commission’s investigation of a firm headed by a Sacramento lobbyist who held lavish fundraisers for politicians at his home, a source said.

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Newsom

Politics Blog
By Joe Garofoli
Thursday, October 17, 2013 - 05:00 p.m.

Gavin Newsom is out front on another controversial social issue. Nearly a decade ago, it was same sex marriage. And for a while — like at the 2004 Democratic convention — he was political uranium. Back in the day, Barack Obama didn’t even want to have his photo taken with Newsom. Of course, that was before the president “evolved” on gay marriage.

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California Attorney General Kamala Harris Left. Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom right.

By JULIET WILLIAMS, Associated Press
Posted: 04/13/2013 02:14:52 PM PDT
Updated: 04/13/2013 05:45:01 PM PDT

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The California Democratic Party’s biggest rising stars, Attorney General Kamala Harris and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, used the party’s annual convention Saturday to push for bold political changes on everything from immigration to marijuana as they positioned themselves for the next stage of their careers—and as potential rivals for a 2018 gubernatorial nomination.

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