California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a new fact-checking website on Wednesday aimed at countering what he calls “right-wing misinformation” about the Golden State and President Donald Trump. But the timing of the launch coincides with troubling new poll numbers that suggest a majority of California voters believe he’s more focused on national ambitions than solving the state’s pressing issues.
According to a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, 54% of California registered voters believe Newsom is prioritizing a possible 2028 presidential run over governing the state. Just 26% believe his attention is primarily on addressing California’s mounting challenges — including housing, crime, and economic concerns.
“By more than a two-to-one margin, most voters believe that as Newsom serves out his final two years as governor, he is devoting more of his attention to things that might benefit himself as a possible candidate for president than to governing the state,” the poll found. The survey was conducted April 21–28 among over 6,200 registered voters.
Despite this perception, Newsom’s campaign is moving forward with a messaging offensive. The newly launched fact-checking site is described as a “rapid-response website to set the record straight” about the state’s record and Trump’s policies. In a press release, Newsom said, “This site is for everyone sick of the BS about California. We’re done letting the MAGA trolls define the Golden State. We’re going on the offense and fighting back — with facts.”
The platform tackles a range of contentious topics — from the Los Angeles wildfires to crime, energy, housing, and immigration — and seeks to rebut claims that California is a cautionary tale of progressive overreach.
Still, critics argue the launch is more about national optics than serving Californians. The same UC Berkeley poll revealed that 46% of voters approve of Newsom’s job performance, with an equal 46% disapproving. Nearly half — 45% — also reported lacking confidence in Newsom’s ability to protect California’s interests during Trump’s second term in the White House.
Some California voters also bristled at a recent proposal to allow public college students to sleep in their cars amid the state’s worsening housing crunch — a policy critics say symbolizes Sacramento’s failure to deliver real solutions.
Newsom, meanwhile, has continued positioning himself as a national Democratic figure. He launched a podcast earlier this year focused on “bipartisan dialogue,” inviting conservatives like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon for high-profile conversations. The project was a response to criticisms that Democrats ignored unscripted and alternative media during the 2024 election cycle — a misstep many believe helped sink the party’s White House and Senate bids.
But whether Newsom’s aggressive media strategy is helping or hurting him at home remains unclear. “The governor is focused on one thing: his job — driving L.A.’s recovery, confronting the housing crisis, and taking Donald Trump to court over his disastrous tariffs,” Newsom’s office said in response to the poll findings.
As the 2028 campaign season slowly takes shape, Newsom remains one of several Democratic governors navigating the delicate balance of leading their state while auditioning for higher office — a tightrope act that could win him a national following but risk further alienating his base at home.
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I want to see him fight AOC in the primaries. That should be a wonderful example of democracy at work in the Democrat Party.