View gallery
Gavin Newsom has lengthy been one of the crucial influential figures in American politics. At present serving because the Governor of California, he first rose to prominence because the Mayor of San Francisco, the place his progressive insurance policies— together with his early assist for same-sex marriage—made nationwide headlines.
Since taking workplace as governor in 2019, Newsom has remained on the heart of main state and nationwide conversations, from local weather initiatives and housing reform to his public clashes with federal leaders. With rising hypothesis a couple of potential 2028 presidential run, his profile on the political stage continues to rise.
Be taught extra about Gavin Newsom’s profession, management, and private life beneath.
He’s Been California’s Governor Since 2019
After serving eight years as California’s lieutenant governor, Newsom ran in opposition to Republican John H. Cox within the 2018 election and received by a large margin. He was sworn in because the state’s fortieth governor in January 2019, succeeding Jerry Brown.
He Suspended the Demise Penalty in California
In 2019, shortly after taking workplace, Newsom signed an government order halting executions in California—the state with the biggest death-row inhabitants within the nation. He additionally ordered the closure of the execution chamber at San Quentin State Jail, calling the dying penalty “ineffective, irreversible, and immoral.” Whereas the moratorium doesn’t abolish capital punishment outright, it successfully paused all executions throughout his tenure and reaffirmed his stance on criminal-justice reform.
“The American justice system is totally damaged, and all of us are perpetuating it,” Newsom stated in an interview with ABC KGO on the time. “The systemic racism, the implicit bias, the overt bias, the whims of prosecutors primarily based on geography, primarily based on the need of individuals within the second, worry and nervousness…. till we handle that I don’t assume we are able to do what Saudi Arabia is doing and what North Korea is doing.”
He Beforehand Served as Mayor of San Francisco
Newsom was elected mayor in 2003, and held the workplace till 2011. Throughout his tenure, Newsom gained nationwide consideration for his assist of same-sex marriage, particularly through the California Prop 8 battle. He directed the San Francisco county clerk to problem marriage licenses to same-sex {couples}, which in 2004 was a violation of state regulation. Although these marriages have been later annulled due to that, he gained the assist of the homosexual neighborhood and pushed ahead the framework for state-wide same-sex marriage.
He was a vocal opponent of Proposition 8 through the 2008 election, a poll initiative that might reverse the California Supreme Court docket ruling that stated there was a constitutional proper to same-sex marriage. Whereas Prop 8 sadly handed, it was, after all, overruled in 2015 when the Supreme Court docket of america made same-sex marriage authorized on the federal degree.
We are able to now not permit the dying penalty to be part of what defines us. That begins as we speak in California. https://t.co/7baNcPP3OR
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 13, 2019
He’s Married and Has 4 Youngsters
Newsom has been married to Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and advocate, since July 2008. They’ve 4 kids collectively: Montana, Hunter, Brooklynn, and Dutch.
Earlier than Jennifer, Newsom was married to Kimberly Guilfoyle from 2001 to 2005, throughout his early years in San Francisco politics. On the time, she was a prosecutor and tv authorized analyst. Following their divorce, Guilfoyle grew to become a Fox Information host and later entered a high-profile relationship with Donald Trump Jr., although the pair have since break up.
He’s a Potential 2028 Presidential Contender
The California governor has ramped up his nationwide profile—taking up high-visibility battles with Donald Trump, visiting key states like South Carolina, and positioning himself as a frontrunner amongst Democrats for 2028.
In a current interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Newsom admitted he would give a run for the White Home “critical thought” after the 2026 midterm elections, saying, “Yeah, I’d be mendacity in any other case.”
