Gavin Newsom vs. Ron DeSantis
"Newsom is not repositioning himself but rather presenting his authentic self."
A Californian sent me a comment about tonight's made-for-TV spectacle. Tony Farrell is a brand strategy expert, with a long career marketing consumer products. I had posited that Newsom was transforming himself from a San Francisco-style progressive into a moderate Democrat who had a shot at carrying battleground states where "California" is a bad brand. Tony Farrell says no, that Newsom is a moderate Democrat ready right now for a presidential run. Tony is a college classmate. He lives in Oakland where he has had a close-up look at Newsom.
Tonight, on Fox News: 9 p.m. Eastern/ 6 p.m. Pacific
Guest Post by Tony Farrell
I look forward to Thursday's debate; long time coming, and actually I did not think it would happen. Likely to not help DeSantis at all, but we'll see.
For more than a decade, Newsom has been pitch-perfect as a California "commonsense" Democrat, calling out progressive nonsense when obvious (taking Lincoln's name off of schools), not hiding from the problems of homelessness, mental illness, illegal immigration, housing and more. I cannot imagine a more deft manager of an image than Gavin; he is a superior political talent and while not brilliant (like Jerry Brown), he studies and works very hard. His judgment about people seems excellent. His choice for Feinstein's replacement, great.No doubt in my mind he is doing all he can to step in front of Biden without stepping in front of Biden; actually, I believe he will be the nominee in 2024 through some unforeseen string of events, and that would be great. He acted like a head-of-state when the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference was in the Bay Area. So, I would say Newsom is not repositioning himself but rather presenting his authentic self.
There are many loud crazies on this Left Coast, and he won't put up with them; he calls them out. But he is also right-minded on most important issues that concern progressives and the mainstream, from schools to abortion. Because he's emerging on the national stage now, perhaps he is working harder to project his image nationwide; yes, he's working to dislodge the old trope of Gavin as the scofflaw mayor who married gay couples in City Hall years before made legal. He did that; now it's mainstream...a mainstream that has come to him. Not repositioning but clarification!
Curious to see DeSantis's smarts when confronted with the sharp, witty mind of a masterful speaker and debater. He'll be turned in knots, my prediction, revealing the fool he is.
Tony, totally agree with you. If I was betting man, I'm not because I do market research, I think it will be Newson vs. Halley for President.
I think Newsom is popular in California. My brother in law who lives in LA would like to see him run for President. California is in a different place politically than most of the country. I think Newsom would be popular with left leaning democrats. Myself an independent not so much. I spend a good portion of the year in California which is a nice state. If any state can figure out how to make everything more expensive California easily wins. Things like groceries, natural gas, water, electricity are all dramatically more expensive than nearby states. When we are in California I get the impression most Californian’s think residents in other states pay similar prices for these items. Any politician from California carries a lot of baggage on the National stage as “The California Way” is usually the most expensive way.