Newsom says 2028 decision due by early January; would not run against Harris

Timeline newest first

1. Nov 13, 2026Newsom said at the UN climate conference in Antalya, Turkey, that he will decide by early January whether to run for president in 2028.
2. Nov 13, 2026Newsom said Donald Trump's presidency, as we know it, ended in the United States with the midterm elections the week before.
3. Nov 13, 2026In a September interview with Jake Tapper, Newsom said he would not run against Kamala Harris because he would not do that to her.
4. Nov 2, 2026Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom appeared together on the campaign trail in California on November 2, their first joint appearance in nearly a year.
5. Nov 2, 2026Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom are each weighing runs for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.

Sources newest first

• Newsom reveals when he'll decide on 2028 White House bid amid growing speculationfoxnews.com· 38h

  Fox News Digital reports that California Gov. Gavin Newsom, term-limited and leaving office in January, said at the UN climate conference in Antalya, Turkey, that he will decide by early January whether to run for president in 2028. He called the midterms a historic rebuke of Donald Trump, and has said he would not run against Kamala Harris.
• Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom, weighing 2028 runs, rally together in Californiawashingtonpost.com· 12d

  Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom appeared together on the campaign trail in their home state of California on Sunday, their first joint appearance in nearly a year. The Washington Post reports that the former vice president and the California governor are each weighing 2028 runs.

Background newest first

• Democrats turn to 2028 after midterm gains boost moderates and progressiveselpais.com· 17h

  An El País article by Luis Doncel reports that Democrats' sweeping 2026 midterm win — 255 House seats, over 100 women lawmakers, and control of both chambers — has revived the party as it looks toward 2028. It says the party ran on affordability and now faces an internal contest between establishment centrists like Hakeem Jeffries and progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, with a wide field of contenders expected, from Kamala Harris to Jon Ossoff and Josh Shapiro.
• Van Hollen ‘no longer pursuing’ possible 2028 bid as he seeks Senate leader jobwashingtonpost.com· 25h

  Sen. Chris Van Hollen says he is no longer pursuing a 2028 presidential bid as he challenges Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader since 2017, for the Senate leadership post. He calls himself an underdog, says he spoke with Schumer directly, and argues the election demands a generational shift.
• California governor Gavin Newsom endorses global fossil fuel phaseouttheguardian.com· 29h

  Mark Hertsgaard's Guardian article reports that California governor Gavin Newsom, the most prominent US politician at Cop31, has endorsed a global fossil fuel phaseout and says California is "100%" behind the Santa Marta coalition, whose roadmaps proceed after petrostates blocked a similar effort at Cop30. The article suggests his statement could add momentum to the summit and raises the possibility the US might join the coalition if Newsom, widely expected to run for president, wins in 2028.
• Beto O’Rourke Talks Texas—and Whether He’ll Run Againvanityfair.com· 46h

  Vanity Fair's Joe Hagan interviews Beto O'Rourke, who explains he stepped aside from a 2026 Senate run—telling James Talarico he would run only if Talarico ran for governor—after concluding the moment called for something and someone new. O'Rourke credits Powered by People and a full Democratic slate for the Texas wave, recounts Ken Paxton's efforts to put him behind bars, calls Chuck Schumer the wrong leader for the moment, and says he remains agnostic about running for office in 2028 or 2030 while predicting a more capable demagogue than Donald Trump unless the door is closed.
• 2028 Dems: Don’t label mepolitico.com· 2d

  Politico reports that potential 2028 Democratic contenders, from moderates like Elissa Slotkin and Josh Shapiro to progressives like Ro Khanna, are shunning the party's progressive-versus-moderate labels and casting themselves as anti-Washington pragmatists after sweeping midterm wins. But Politico sees the midterm wave as fueling rather than ending the party's ideological civil war, and it expects more proxy battles as the field narrows to one nominee.
• Inside political circles, AOC’s aloof style becomes a factorpolitico.com· 3d

  Politico's Playbook briefing reports that allies of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ro Khanna have launched rival recruitment efforts to draft both into the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, with Democrats saying her guarded, aloof style is emerging as a factor against Khanna's responsiveness. The newsletter also covers Ian Phillips' narrow 0.6% lead over John Lemondes in the last undecided New York Assembly race, Zohran Mamdani facing boos and cheers at the Veterans Day parade, and Julia Salazar's housing agenda.
• The Billionaires’ Boy - The American Prospectprospect.org· 4d

  In an American Prospect column, Harold Meyerson blames SEIU local leader Dave Regan and outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom for California voters' defeat of the Proposition 40 billionaires' wealth tax and passage of the Texas-style Proposition 42, arguing Newsom shielded billionaire backers like Sergey Brin for his presidential run. He calls Newsom's commutation of 500-plus death sentences commendable but no reprieve from his identity as the billionaires' boy.
• Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t back Schumer in Senate leadership votethehill.com· 4d

  The Hill reports that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declined to back Chuck Schumer as he seeks his caucus's support to become Senate majority leader in January 2027, saying the choice belongs to Senate members. She is seen as a possible primary challenger to Schumer or a 2028 presidential candidate, and says she is weighing her options.
• The Clock Is Ticking for Kamala Harriswashingtonsun.com· 4d

  Jasmine Wright reports for The Washington Sun that Kamala Harris, fresh off a midterm campaigning swing that took her to seven states, faces pressure from advisers and friends to decide by the end of 2026 whether to run again for president. Democrats and donors around her are divided on whether a second White House bid, after her 2024 loss, would lead the 2028 field or reopen old wounds.
• Progressives Launch ‘Ready for AOC’ Ahead of 2028 Presidential Electionnytimes.com· 5d

  A New York Times article reports that the progressive group Ready for AOC launched a volunteer-powered push on Monday to draft Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez into the 2028 presidential race, part of an early scramble in a likely crowded Democratic primary. The group's spokesman, Ravi Sahai, says it already counts more than 500 local and union leaders in 35 states and aims to gather a million signatures; Ocasio-Cortez has not ruled out challenging Senator Chuck Schumer instead and says she will decide on a run after the midterms.
• Opinion | Who Will Democrats Pick as Their Presidential Candidate in 2028?nytimes.com· 5d

  In an opinion newsletter, Frank Bruni surveys the 2028 Democratic field after Democrats' big midterm wins, weighing Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, Pete Buttigieg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Josh Shapiro, Jon Ossoff, and others against questions of age, electability, and whether sexism blunted Harris's 2024 loss. He predicts the wave will enlarge an already crowded field, and quotes other writers on Trump's implosion, including Matt Bai, Helen Lewis, and Alexandra Petri's satire of a wounded MAGA stalwart.
• Gov. Josh Shapiro urges Democrats to prioritize healthcare, food assistancenbcnews.com· 6d

  On Meet the Press, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro urges Democrats to focus on 2027 rather than 2028, pressing Congress to stop the Medicaid, SNAP, and Affordable Care Act cuts he says are hitting 510,000 Pennsylvanians' healthcare and 143,000 more's food assistance. He declined to commit to a presidential run or to serving his full term, while President Trump says he intends to work with Democrats and has touted a 'VETO'-branded hat since the midterms.
• ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videosabcnews.com

  The ABC News homepage rounds up breaking headlines led by the midterm elections: Democrats flipped statehouses and won the redistricting war, world leaders weighed the power shift, and President Trump named Susie Wiles out as chief of staff. Elsewhere, five died in a Polish market square shooting, measles topped 5,000 US cases, and Jay Rockefeller died at 89.
• With death sentence clemency, Newsom takes another big political risklatimes.com· 7d

  The Los Angeles Times reports that Governor Gavin Newsom moved on November 5, 2026, to commute the death sentences of all 548 prisoners awaiting execution in California, a state that has not executed anyone since 2006 and whose voters twice rejected abolishing the penalty. Opponents including Sheriff Jim Cooper and prosecutors object, while political analysts say the commutations could bolster Newsom's progressive credentials if he runs for president.
• AOC is the only Democratic nominee who can make the blue tsunami lastsubstack.com· 7d

  In a 6 November 2026 Perkstack column, Nick Perkins argues that despite Jon Ossoff's 18-point Georgia Senate win and the Democrats' sweeping midterm majorities making him the 2028 frontrunner, Ossoff's incrementalism suits him poorly for a once-in-a-generation moment. He contends Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the only nominee with the agenda — Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, a higher minimum wage — to deliver a second New Deal and turn the blue tsunami into a lasting Democratic coalition.
• What to Know About Gavin Newsom’s Historic Commutation of All California Death Sentencestime.com· 8d

  A Time article explains Gavin Newsom's move to commute all 548 California death sentences to life without parole — the largest mass commutation in U.S. history, covering a quarter of the country's death row and going beyond the execution moratorium he set in 2019. The commutation is not automatic, with about 70% of cases requiring California Supreme Court review, and reactions split between victims' families, prosecutors, and anti-death penalty advocates as Newsom is expected to announce a 2028 presidential run.
• Setting 'Powerful Example' for Other States, Newsom Works to Clear Country's Largest Death Row | Common Dreamscommondreams.org· 8d

  A Common Dreams article reports that outgoing California Gov. Gavin Newsom moved to commute all of the state's death sentences, sparing up to 548 lives on the country's largest death row, drawing applause from capital punishment opponents. Commutations for those with multiple convictions need California Supreme Court approval before he leaves office in January 2027.
• Newsom Moves to Empty California’s Death Row by Commuting 548 Sentences | KQEDkqed.org· 8d

  KQED reports that Gov. Gavin Newsom will commute the sentences of all 548 people on California's death row — the largest act of mass clemency in U.S. history, per the Death Penalty Information Center — to life without parole, citing moral opposition to state-sanctioned killing. The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation is considering a legal challenge, and the move comes before Newsom leaves office in January 2027 ahead of an expected presidential run.
• What Gavin Newsom's commutations mean for the death penalty in the U.S.calmatters.org· 9d

  CalMatters, with The Marshall Project, examines what Gov. Gavin Newsom's move to commute the death sentences of all 548 people on California's death row means for capital punishment nationwide. The California Supreme Court must still approve commutations for more than half the group, and critics including Marc Klaas denounce the decision while Jess Nichol, sister of victim Polly Klaas's killer's victim family, supports it.
• California Gov. Newsom says he will commute all death sentences in state to life without parolenbcbayarea.com· 9d

  NBC Bay Area reports that Gov. Gavin Newsom, leaving office after eight years, will commute all California death sentences to life without parole, moving to grant clemency to 548 people, with the state Supreme Court needing to approve roughly 70% of the cases. Victim advocates and district attorneys condemn the move, while the ACLU, the Death Penalty Information Center, and death penalty opponents applaud it.
• California Governor Gavin Newsom commutes sentences for state's 548 death row inmatesbbc.com· 9d

  A BBC News article by Nardine Saad and Madeline Halpert reports that term-limited California Governor Gavin Newsom commuted the death sentences of all 548 death row inmates to life in prison, calling the move largely symbolic since the state has not executed anyone since 2006. Reactions ranged from the ACLU's praise to prosecutor Nathan Hochman's objection that only voters or the legislature can abolish the death penalty.
• Newsom commutes all 548 California death sentences in historic movesfchronicle.com· 9d

  Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Nov 5, 2026 that he will commute the death sentences of all 548 condemned inmates in California to life without parole, the culmination of a process begun with his 2019 moratorium on executions and coming as he openly explores a run for president. The move drew celebration from prison reform activists and intense disappointment among victims' families and prosecutors, while Governor-elect Xavier Becerra has committed to extending the moratorium.
• Die neuen Demokraten-Stars: Links, populistisch, authentischtaz.de· 10d

  Sebastian Moll's taz.de article portrays the Democrats' new generation of stars after the 2026 midterms, in which the party won back both chambers of Congress: among the winners are Jon Ossoff in the Senate, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Gina Hinojosa as Texas's first Latina governor, James Talarico, pediatrician Annie Andrews, and Chris Pappas, the first openly gay senator. Moll sees a direct line from Barack Obama to these millennials, who use social media in a left-populist yet authentic way, and expects Ossoff and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to be the party's most concrete contenders for the 2028 presidential candidacy, while Bernd Pickert expects Donald Trump to become even more dangerous.
• Democrat Xavier Becerra wins California governor's race, defeating Republican Steve Hiltonpbs.org· 10d

  The Associated Press reports that Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former state attorney general and Biden administration official, won California's 2026 governor's race, defeating Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host who has never held elected office, and extending the Democrats' 16-year statewide winning streak. Becerra tied Hilton to President Donald Trump, whom Hilton pledged to counter with promises to abolish the DMV and cut gas prices to $3 a gallon, and Sophie Austin writes that Becerra's victory keeps California and the White House adversaries through the rest of Trump's term.
• Xavier Becerra wins California race for governor with vows to resist Trump’s agendatheguardian.com· 10d

  The Guardian reports that Xavier Becerra, a 68-year-old Democratic former health and human services secretary and onetime California attorney general who sued the Trump administration 122 times, has won the California governor's race and will become the state's first Latino governor since 1875. He campaigned on restoring the "California Dream" and affordability, and has vowed to resist Donald Trump's agenda while succeeding term-limited Gavin Newsom, whose race against Steve Hilton he calls Becerra the overwhelming favorite to have won.
• Xavier Becerra Becomes California’s First Latino Elected as Governor, Defeating Steve Hiltonnytimes.com· 10d

  The New York Times reports that Xavier Becerra, a Democrat who was once urged by his own party chairman to quit the race, defeated Steve Hilton to become California's first Latino elected governor and will succeed the term-limited Gavin Newsom. The article also tracks other election returns, with Democrats given a greater than 95 percent chance of winning both Senate and House control.
• AOC is already looking ahead to 2028dailykos.com· 10d

  Daily Kos's article covers Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's memo positioning her for a possible 2028 presidential run, touting her $38 million small-dollar haul, $3 million directed to other candidates, her 'Fight Oligarchy' tour with Bernie Sanders, and her organizing in Black and brown communities. Oliver Willis calls the memo one of the first shots of the 2028 campaign, with the buzz joined by other prominent Democrats, though whether it yields a viable bid remains open.
• Ossoff wins reelection in battleground Georgiathehill.com· 10d

  The Hill, citing a Decision Desk HQ projection, reports Sen. Jon Ossoff has won reelection in Georgia, holding off Rep. Mike Collins after leading in polling and fundraising throughout the campaign. Ossoff, seen as a rising Democratic star and subject of presidential speculation, says he has zero interest in running for president.
• Former health secretary Xavier Becerra wins California governor’s race, becoming state’s first Latino governorwashingtonpost.com· 11d

  The Washington Post reports that former health secretary Xavier Becerra defeated Republican Steve Hilton to win California's governor's race, becoming the state's first Latino governor and succeeding Gavin Newsom, who cannot run for a third term. Becerra surged after front-runner Eric Swalwell, who denied misconduct allegations, dropped out, and his win extends Democratic dominance in California.
• Gavin Newsom is almost out of office. Will he empty California’s death row first?washingtonpost.com· 11d

  A Washington Post article by Katie Mettler examines Gavin Newsom's death penalty legacy as his term ends, asking whether he will empty California's death row before leaving office. It recounts that as governor he issued the state's first execution moratorium, dismantled the death chamber, and repealed the lethal injection protocol, and writes that he became the most anti-death-penalty governor in California's history.
• How California’s Billionaires Are Proving that Billionaire Wealth Endangers Democracysubstack.com· 15d

  Robert Reich argues that California's billionaires — led by Sergey Brin's $102 million against Proposition 40, a one-time 5 percent tax on billionaire wealth — are proving by their own spending that billionaire wealth throttles democracy. He contrasts Governor Gavin Newsom's opposition to the tax and donor-friendly positioning for 2028 with Representative Ro Khanna's support for it, contending that because power, unlike wealth, is zero-sum, taxing billionaires is needed to preserve democracy.
• Black Women Are the Past, Present, and Future of the Democratic Partythenation.com· 2y

  Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman and Jennifer Taylor-Skinner argue in The Nation that Black women set the stage for Kamala Harris's rise, citing Win with Black Women's digital organizing after Biden's exit and convention tributes to figures like Fannie Lou Hamer and Shirley Chisholm. They warn that Black women are often blamed when things go wrong, and Maxine Waters predicts Harris will be elected president.