Potential Democratic primary voters are increasingly energized about California Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to a new poll.
The surge in support comes as the Democrat has adopted a highly confrontational approach towards the Trump administration in recent weeks, mocking and parodying the president online while challenging Trump’s push to increase Republican seats through redistricting.
Newsom now counts 19 percent support among Democrats and Democrat-leaning independent potential primary voters, according to a Morning Consult poll released Tuesday.
The support represents a notable increase from Newsom’s five percent support among this group in March and 11 percent support in June.
The California governor, who has taken to ironically using Trump-style rhetoric online — all caps posts, outrageous memes, signature catchphrases like “thank you for your attention to this matter” — still trails a fellow Golden State Democrat, former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris, who announced this summer she will not seek the governorship once Newsom leaves office, has 29 percent support among the polled primary voters.
Other potential 2028 candidates trail the pair, with former Biden administration Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 6 percent support in the poll.
The findings back up other recent data points suggesting a Newsom surge.
The governor saw a three percent jump in support over last month in favorability ratings, according to Echelon Insights.
Another recent poll showed that 75 percent of California Democrats want Newsom to run for president or are excited about him doing so, nearly double the share that reported this opinion in 2023.
The California governor hasn’t formally announced a campaign, though it’s widely thought he is seeking the 2028 slot for the Democrats.
His record battling Trump online and otherwise would form a key part of his record in any future campaign.
Outside of trolling social media posts, Newsom helped spearhead a recently passed California redistricting plan that could add five Democratic seats in Congress if approved by voters, a response to a Trump-backed plan in Texas that came after the president said he was “entitled” to as many as five more seats there.
The Trump administration has said it plans to sue California over the map plan, and the president has threatened to extend his National Guard anti-crime crackdown to San Francisco, Newsom’s home city.
Newsom, meanwhile, sued the administration over its decision to send National Guard troops into Los Angeles over the summer in response to anti-immigration raid protests over the objection of California officials.
