Californians’ quality of life has plummeted under Governor Gavin Newsom’s leadership. Utility rates have increased 39% over the past six years, and the Golden State heavily imports oil and gas from hostile nations like Brazil and Iraq. Yet, Governor Newsom is now seeking to fail up — planning to run for president in 2028. More importantly, though, it risks the spread of contagious, toxic ideas from California’s policy laboratory to the entire country.
Newsom’s low approval rating, a meager 44% among Californians, hasn’t deterred his presidential aspirations. He gave this labyrinthine response in a recent interview when asked if he was running: “You gotta have a big enough why, right? You gotta meet the moment. You gotta have the humility and the confidence at the same time to think that you can add value that doesn’t exist versus the lineup of other people.” This word salad would make Kamala Harris proud. Newsom clearly covets the Oval Office, but isn’t willing to say so yet.
Life with Newsom in charge is challenging. The governor’s tenure has seen him trade affordability and human flourishing for a radical policy agenda. His policies have begun to spread to left-wing states. Cars, solar panels, and water are just some of Newsom’s policy weapons of choice.
First, California’s Advanced Clean Cars II Act, which would require 100% of vehicles purchased by 2035 to be electric vehicles (EVs), has been adopted by 12 other states. The EV example shows Newsom’s nanny-state mentality and logical contradictions. He claims the reason we need EVs is “because people want something differently,” but is using government coercion to force people to buy EVs — meaning it’s not really about what people want. According to Newsom, without EV mandates, America will be left in “the dust” by China. Of course, that is totally backwards: EV mandates harm American automakers’ competitiveness, only aiding Beijing. Already, some states are jumping ship and reversing Newsom’s nonsensical lead: Vermont, Oregon, and Maryland have stopped enforcing their EV mandates.
Second, California requires solar panel installations in all new nonresidential, multifamily, and single-family buildings with a few exceptions. All the while, electricity prices are astronomical due to solar power flooding the grid and regulations crippling baseload power. Since Newsom became governor, his regulatory madness has caused over 300 energy companies to stop operating in California, and the number of oil drilling permit submissions has fallen by 95%. Yet climate mandates have made California susceptible to energy insecurity with increased renewable energy curtailments. This occurs when excess power is “thrown away” to avoid overloading the system. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), California’s grid operator, reports that solar, one of the least reliable energy sources available, accounts for 93% of energy curtailments in 2024. Unsurprisingly, these mandates end up poisoning the electricity grid and raising power costs. No wonder California’s energy prices rank 49th out of 50 states.
Finally, Californians are permanently urged to ration water and take very short showers. Why? Save water during droughts. However, the California water rationing only applies to urban areas and affects 10% of California’s annual water consumption. Forcing rationing on the masses just to virtue-signal is the definition of bad policy. According to the EPA, practical water conservation involves a focus on infrastructure, not arbitrary mandates.
Under the full Newsom plan, a Californian’s daily routine could be as follows. After waking up, the Californian would eat breakfast — at a far higher price than the same meal would cost in another state. Then they would need to drive to work — but their state-mandated EV either needs maintenance or is out of charge. They can’t go to work. So, they decide to stay home — in the sweltering heat. The air conditioning stays off at Newsom’s request. At their children’s school, the air conditioning doesn’t work or perhaps doesn’t even exist.
Newsom says his opponents do not care about the environment and just want money. He recently accused President Trump of “making deadly pollution great again.” Yet, of course, Newsom has no corporate interests, and he simply wants the best for everyone. Sure.
If Newsom were to become president, he would do much of what he has already done in the Golden State: use his facade of moderation to foist radical agendas on the public. Under Newsom’s tenure, each aspect of Californians’ lives has been put under a microscope — micromanaged, then mismanaged. The results plainly speak for themselves. Rampant crime, the skyrocketing cost of living, and resource mismanagement plague the Golden State. Even liberal Californians are leaving in droves to escape Newsom’s vision — the same vision he has for governing America.
Newsom wants to turn California’s environmental policy laboratory into a national experiment. The experiment has failed, yet Newsom is not reconsidering his hypothesis. Instead, he wants to make the United States his new lab rat.
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Sydney Rodman is a visiting fellow with Independent Women’s Center for Energy and Conservation.
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