Gavin Newsom Tours California’s Trump Country to Tout Economic Focus
(Bloomberg) -- California Governor Gavin Newsom is embarking on a tour of conservative counties in a bid to connect with voters who shifted to President-elect Donald Trump in this month’s election.
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Newsom kicked off his pitch in Fresno County on Thursday, touting $120 million in job-creation grants intended to boost employment across California in the coming years. The move is part of the Democrat’s effort to reinforce his party’s economic messaging while addressing growing voter concerns about affordability and the outlook for the working class.
“California may be the largest economy in the United States of America,” Newsom said from an automotive repair school. “But that’s cold comfort for certain regions in this state that don’t feel that they’re fully participating in that economic output. They don’t feel like they’re fully engaged in the prosperity that is the state of California.”
Fresno County voted for the Republican presidential candidate for the first time in two decades in this year’s election, underscoring the inroads Trump made with traditionally Democratic voters. It’s one of eight counties that he flipped in deep-blue California, contributing to a broader national swing that helped Republicans secure control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.
In the coming weeks, Newsom is set to visit Colusa County, a rural area north of Sacramento, and Kern County, a GOP stronghold and home to former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“I care about people. I don’t care who you voted for,” Newsom said. “I care about Trump supporters. I care about RFK Jr. supporters. I care about Tucker Carlson supporters.”
The governor’s focus on conservative-leaning counties highlights rising voter frustration with Democrats who control all levels of California’s state government. Concerns over housing affordability, crime and gas prices have pushed some voters to the right, while hundreds of thousands of people have left the state.
Trump’s gains aren’t the only signs of a conservative shift in the state. Voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure toughening penalties for theft and drug crimes. And Republicans are poised to flip as many as three seats in the state legislature, although Democrats will retain their supermajority.
Newsom can point to a track record that includes bolstering labor protections and enacting landmark legislation that lifted the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 an hour. But California’s economic disparities further complicate the governor’s pitch to the working class.
High housing costs are often blamed for driving residents away to other states. The typical price for a mid-tier home in California has been rising rapidly and now tops $700,000, more than double the national average, according to the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.
While highly-paid tech workers have reaped significant financial benefits from an AI-driven surge in the stock market, hourly workers have seen only modest wage growth, according to the state’s nonpartisan budget analyst. California’s unemployment rate of 5.4% remains above the national average of 4.1%.
(Updates with Newsom comment in sixth paragraph.)
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