A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
California is facing a $12 billion deficit, and Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom made clear budget cuts are ahead. What's not as clear is whether Newsom is signaling a shift to the center of the political spectrum. That's been the speculation ahead of a potential 2028 run for president. Joining us now with Scott Shafer. He's a senior politics and government editor at Member Station KQED in San Francisco.
So, Scott, do you see any political movement from Newsom in his latest budget?
SCOTT SHAFER, BYLINE: Well, for starters, Governor Newsom took a shot at the president, calling the steep drop in state revenues a direct result of his policies - tariffs, primarily. He calls it the Trump slump, saying that, you know, California is basically under assault from the federal government, and he blames that for the revenue drop. But, you know, with the state facing a big budget deficit, the question is what are you going to cut? In California, one major target - the one that the governor is focusing on - is California's Medi-Cal program. That's what we call Medicaid out here. And up to now, California has used state money to expand eligibility for Medi-Cal to include all low-income folks in the state regardless of their immigration status and it's proven really popular. Well over a million immigrants without legal status have currently signed up and those costs are growing. And so to save $5 billion, Newsom is proposing freezing new applications. He also wants to begin charging $100 a month for folks who are 19 and older, starting in 2027. And to your question about politics, well, you know, is it an attempt to move toward the center on immigration? Well, certainly, critics on the left say that it is, he should be really raising taxes, not cutting the social safety net, but, you know, Republicans, on the other hand, are saying, look, we said all along this expansion to immigrants was never sustainable, and you never should have done it.
MARTÍNEZ: So aside from the budget, then, anything that we've seen that suggests that he might be moving to the middle or maybe rebranding himself as a national candidate for president?
SHAFER: Yeah. I think possibly. I mean, earlier this week, Newsom lashed out at local governments for not cleaning up homeless encampments. He wants to essentially ban them from sidewalks and parks and other public spaces, and, you know, that could be seen as a bit of a pivot to the middle, but it's also just a response to how Californians are feeling about this issue. They're kind of tired of the conditions on the street. Also, a few weeks ago, Newsom spoke out against trans athletes participating in girls' and women's sports. He called it deeply unfair. That kind of shocked some of his LGBT supporters. And he was asked about some of these changing positions during his press conference yesterday, and he had this to say.
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GAVIN NEWSOM: I've been always a hard-headed pragmatist. I'm not an ideologue. I'm open argument, interested in evidence. I've been accused of being a pragmatist for 20 plus years. And I think I'm being accused of that again.
SHAFER: So Republicans, of course, would say, you know what? He is very liberal. He's just trying to rebrand himself, and, you know, that's something that Newsom denies.
MARTÍNEZ: What do California voters think of Gavin Newsom?
SHAFER: Well, you know, there's a bit of fatigue. He's in his sixth year as governor, so voters are getting a little tired of him. That's not that unusual for a politician. The overall trend for him has been a mild, not a sharp downturn, but a downturn in approval ratings. Right now in the most recent statewide poll, equal numbers of voters approve and disapprove of his performance - 46% each. But what caught my attention is that by 2-1, voters say he's more focused on running for president than doing what's best for California. So there's a certain cynicism about his priorities.
MARTÍNEZ: While I got you here, Scott, Kamala Harris - how are voters feeling about her possibly running for governor?
SHAFER: Well, they like her, especially Democrats. She's popular with women, younger voters. The good news for her is everyone knows who she is, while the others running aren't very well known. But, you know, as Richard Nixon learned in '62, losing a race for president then coming home to run for governor of California doesn't always work out. It's just not a sure thing.
MARTÍNEZ: KQED's Scott Shafer. Scott, thanks.
SHAFER: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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