By Debra J. Saunders
Two California Democrats could run for president in 2028: Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Republican operatives are likely thinking: Bring it on.
Under Newsom, California’s image has become less golden than it used to be. The high cost of living has taken a toll.
According to the IRS, California is experiencing the highest net loss of taxpayers, with one taxpayer leaving every 1 minute and 44 seconds. Nearly 39,000 Californians moved to Nevada last year.
Hope that the Silver State newcomers do not bring their progressive politics with them—and good luck to them.
The entertainment industry has been decamping from Hollywood for some time, but the decline of Greater Los Angeles as an industry town accelerated after the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America strikes in 2023. On-location production in the region fell by more than 22% from January through March 2025, according to FilmLA.
California’s loss could be good for Nevada. Actor Mark Wahlberg and others have been working to turn the Las Vegas area into a more affordable home for the industry—what they call “Hollywood 2.0.”
However, the Nevada Legislature has rejected rich transferable tax credits as an incentive to create film studios in southern Nevada.
Much of Silicon Valley’s Big Tech has relocated to states with lower taxes and less restrictive regulations. In 2021, Elon Musk moved Tesla’s headquarters to Texas. In 2024, Musk relocated the headquarters for X (formerly Twitter) from San Francisco and his personal residence to Texas.
During a 2010 interview while running for California governor, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman discussed where executives might rebuild if eBay had to start over. Her answer was not California.
Energy companies have also departed: Chevron left San Ramon, California, for Houston.
California does not look like a can-do state anymore.
Consider the Southland’s inability to prevent wildfires scorching areas such as Pacific Palisades and Altadena. City, county, and state governments appeared more focused on political agendas than providing essential infrastructure and services.
With all that failure, hypocrisy doesn’t look so bad.
Republican rivals may not even mention Governor Newsom’s infamous COVID-19 dinner at the French Laundry in Napa, despite his team advising Californians against having Thanksgiving dinners with more than three households.
As for Harris, she will have to answer for her former boss, President Joe Biden, who opened the border to millions of unvetted immigrants without considering potential consequences.
Harris made a verbal blunder during an October 2024 appearance on ABC’s “The View” when asked what she might have done differently than Biden: “There is not a thing that comes to mind.”
California Democratic political consultant Darry Sragow wonders if Harris, after losing the world’s biggest prize, might become “a very different candidate than she’s been” should she run for the White House again. He warns against assuming Harris did not learn from 2024.
Sragow also notes that voters have been “waiting for someone to go toe to toe with Donald Trump,” and Newsom—the slick-haired Democrat—could be that person. He has become anti-Trumpers’ favorite candidate.
Sragow adds that while America might view California as “cray-cray” (a phrase he uses), events could change everything.
Californians enjoy a balmy climate that New Yorkers and Washingtonians envy, but the economic climate remains an issue.
