Gavin Newsom’s 24/7 social media machine

These days you can find Gov. Gavin Newsom on just about any media platform. 

With less than three months until he finishes his final term as California governor, you can catch Newsom on X picking fights with right-wing media, posting on Substack and interviewing guests on his podcast. 

As a potential 2028 presidential hopeful, he’s become one of the Democratic Party’s most prolific communicators, reports CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang. It’s mostly on his own terms: Newsom, in his second term, rarely takes questions directly from the media in Sacramento and his agencies have responded less to press inquiries and interview requests.

His 24-person press and communications team operates as an around-the-clock, content-creating machine. It includes a dedicated photographer for “visual messaging,” staff who scout locations for events, camera operators who livestream the events and four pop-culture-savvy Gen Z digital staffers who churn out memes and social media content. (In January 2020, a year into his first term, the team consisted of only 12 people). 

To critics, Newsom’s press strategy can blur ethical lines. He is using his office “to basically run a political account” in ways that mirror how President Donald Trump treats his political opponents and the press, said Rob Stutzman, a Republican strategist and former spokesperson for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Newsom’s office tells conservative writers they are not “real journalists.” His social media posts include AI-generated memes boosting Newsom or taunting Republicans. And when Republican-turned-independent Kevin Kiley responded that he criticized Trump’s recent remark about letting Iran “take out” L.A. and San Diego, Newsom’s office wrote it was insufficient and replied, “You’re a weak little noodle.”

• Stutzman: “Trump has changed the norms. And Newsom, his operation basically adopted the Trump playbook.”

Read more.

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Other Stories You Should Know

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Essayli alleges noncitizens are registered to vote

The U.S. Justice Department says it has evidence that noncitizens are registered to vote in California, and it’s demanding that officials review the information — or else. 

The demand — delivered through letters Tuesday to the California secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder — escalates the Trump administration’s effort to find evidence of widespread voter fraud in the runup to the November election. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wants the state and county to make sure noncitizens do not receive ballots, or separate their bills until their citizenship can be confirmed.

The letters do not say how many noncitizens the justice department believes are registered to vote.

The department gave state officials a thumb drive that it said contained the list of people, as well as a deadline of today to review the list. If officials do not comply, the department said it will “have no choice but to seek emergency relief.”

L.A. County’s registrar office on Wednesday said it is reviewing the information, but that it did not access the drive because it doesn’t consider the device to be secure.

Election fraud is extremely rare. Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security claimed Nevada had nearly 16,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls. It then reduced the number to about 6,000 and then again down to 185 individuals. Last month, Nevada told the federal department that its records indicate that all 185 were citizens.

Majority of CA kids still not proficient at math, English

California K-12 students notched slightly higher test scores compared to last year, but progress still hasn’t rebounded completely since the COVID-19 pandemic, writes CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones.

The percentage of students proficient in math jumped just over 1 percentage point to 38.5% and proficiency in English language arts rose half a percentage point to 49.3%, according to state data released today. Science scores increased 3.3% percentage points, to 36%. 

• Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the State Board of Education: “It’s slow but steady improvement. It suggests we’re continuing to come out of the pandemic, and there’s still a lot of work to do.”

The state also released new data on school enrollment, which fell to 5.7 million last year, or a loss of 74,000 students. Because the state funds schools based on the number of students who show up every day, the declining numbers will mean less revenue for many districts.

Read more.

And lastly: Should we all pay for political campaigns?

Proposition 4 would authorize the state and most local governments to set up public campaign financing systems for state and local races. Good-government groups say the measure would be a much-needed check against unfettered campaign spending from private interests. But opponents say politicians shouldn’t use taxpayer dollars to help fund their campaigns. Read more from Yue Stella Yu.

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California Voices

CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: California’s war over taxes and spending hit a turning point with voters in 1978 and, as this year’s array of ballot measures indicates, it shows no sign of ending.

CalMatters contributor Jim Newton: Tuesday’s L.A. mayoral debate did not seal the deal for either candidate, but it displayed tough disagreements between former friends, now rivals, and a choice of personalities and ideas.

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State worker strike contested by Newsom administration // Abridged (free)

Sacramento leaders push for CARE Court changes // The Sacramento Bee (gift link)

How CA’s ultrarich are trying to stop the world’s first billionaire tax // The New York Times (gift link)

After a decade of wildfires, an overlooked election could shape CA’s climate future // Grist (free)

Two children of Vietnamese refugees face off in CA congressional race // Capital & Main (free)

Bribery trial of ex-Oakland mayor kicks off // KQED (free)

ICE agent charged with felony assault and elder abuse in Fresno’s Tower District // Fresnoland (free)

‘Phantom’ data centers are demanding more from the power grid than they need // The Wall Street Journal (gift link)