IMO, a California politician would face an uphill battle in the general anyway.
Republicans have spent so long demonizing California as a place full of communists and corruption that any politician associated with California is going to be viewed with intense suspicion by the (unfortunately all-important) flyover states.
Now, to be clear, fuck those ignorant assholes. But we do kind of need their votes, regardless. And it would be a mistake to run a candidate in the general election who has this disadvantage in swaying them.
IMO, a California politician would face an uphill battle in the general anyway.
Republicans have spent so long demonizing California as a place full of communists and corruption that any politician associated with California is going to be viewed with intense suspicion by the (unfortunately all-important) flyover states.
Now, to be clear, fuck those ignorant assholes. But we do kind of need their votes, regardless. And it would be a mistake to run a candidate in the general election who has this disadvantage in swaying them.
The funny thing is newsom is so far removed from being any of those things Republicans paint California Dems as.