California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s standing among Democratic voters has reportedly sharply increased in recent weeks, according to new polling, thrusting him into the spotlight of a party still searching for a standard-bearer heading into the 2028 presidential race.
An Emerson College Polling survey released Friday showed 25 percent of Democratic primary voters saying they would support Newsom as their nominee, a jump from the 12 percent he recorded in June. The surge has catapulted the California governor to the top of a crowded field but also underscores the lack of consensus within the party.
By contrast, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg remained stagnant at 16 percent, while former Vice President Kamala Harris — once considered a frontrunner — slipped from 13 percent in June to just 11 percent.
The survey found that other prominent Democrats continue to struggle to break through. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, former U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, and Rep. Ro Khanna of California all polled under 10 percent.
Three percent of respondents said they wanted someone else altogether, and nearly 16 percent were undecided — a reminder that no candidate has secured anything close to a majority among Democratic voters.
“Governor Newsom’s support surged across key demographic groups, highlighted by a 12-point increase among voters under 30 (6% to 18%), an 18-point increase among voters over 70 (13% to 31%), and a 14-point increase among both Black (9% to 23%) and White (10% to 24%) voters,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, explained in a press release.
The California governor’s rise has been fueled not only by polling but also by his increasingly visible role in national partisan battles. Newsom has inserted himself into the latest redistricting fight, responding to Texas Republicans who passed a new House map that could help the GOP net five seats ahead of the 2026 midterms. The legislation, expected to be signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, has drawn the support of President Trump, whose allies have pressed for the changes.
In turn, Newsom and fellow California Democrats have advanced a House map of their own, openly designed to counter Republican gains in Texas. That proposal will go before California voters in a November special election.
Newsom has also sought to sharpen his profile with Democrats by taunting Trump directly on social media, mimicking the former president’s style on X in an effort to cast himself as one of the party’s most visible fighters against the administration.
The Emerson survey was conducted between Aug. 25 and Aug. 26, interviewing 1,000 registered voters with a margin of error of 3 percentage points. Within that group, 387 Democratic primary voters were polled, with a margin of error of 4.9 points.
For all of Newsom’s momentum, however, the poll underscores the unsettled state of the Democratic field. With no candidate even approaching 50 percent support, the race remains wide open — and the governor’s sharp-edged approach may energize progressives while alienating the moderates his party will need in 2028.
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