Who is Gavin Newsom? The Democrat who could replace Joe Biden

The Governor of California Gavin Newsom has been posited as a potential replacement for Joe Biden following a what media reports have described as “disastrous” head-to-head debate with Donald Trump.

Unnamed party sources have suggested the current president may be replaced as the Democratic presidential candidate after he appeared incoherent and had delayed reactions in the first presidential debate between himself and Republican presidential candidate nominee Donald Trump.

The New York Times, the US’ most trusted newspaper, has now issued an editorial urging for Mr Biden to step down from the race after saying he “struggled” through the debate, adding: “Mr. Biden has been an admirable president. Under his leadership, the nation has prospered and begun to address a range of long-term challenges, and the wounds ripped open by Mr. Trump have begun to heal. But the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election.”

Mr Biden has appeared to acknowledge the criticism during a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, yesterday, adding: “I don’t debate as well as I used to.”

But he added: “I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done.”

Here is everything you need to know about Mr Newsom’s political career, his support for Mr Biden and whether he could replace him before the November election.

What does Mr Newsom’s political career look like?

Graduating from Santa Clara University on a partial baseball scholarship, Mr Newsom started at the bottom of local US politics in 1996, on the board of the Parking and Traffic Commission in San Francisco.

Then in 2003, Mr Newsom stepped up to become the mayor of San Francisco where he served two terms.

In 2004 Mr Newsom made history by writing to the County Clerk, urging her to alter the template for marriage licenses to accommodate same-sex couples, which at the time was in direct violation of state law, spurring the first string of same-sex marriages.

In 2010 Newsom was elected lieutenant-governor of California, and eight years later he was elected to the top office.

Critics have pointed to Mr Newsom’s notoriously high levels of homelessness in California, as well as high taxes and immigration issues.

Mr Newsom has been at the forefront of a number of progressive bills, including in May when he proposed that California help Arizona abortion seekers by allowing doctors from that state to operate across the border.

Recently, he signed new legislation that pushed the feasibility of wave and tidal energy in California. California also became the first US state to prohibit “stealthing”, or removing a condom without permission during intercourse, after Mr Newsom signed a bill into law.

California also removed the word “alien” from its state laws after the governor called it “an offensive term for a human being” that has “fuelled a divisive and hurtful narrative”.

However, the state is in an estimated deficit of $46.8 billion and homelessness has risen from 151,278 in 2019 to 181,399 in 2023.

Mr Newsom has tried to push tidal and wave energy systems over the line in California (Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Does he support Mr Biden?

Mr Newsom has expressed outright support for Mr Biden and defended the president after the debate. He told reporters: “We have the chance to have the back of this president who’s had our back. You don’t turn your back.

“What kind of party does that? This president has delivered. We need to deliver for him at this moment.”

He later said “We have to defeat Trump, re-elect POTUS, and have the backs of Dems up and down the ticket,” in a push to secure more funding for the Democratic party.

The governor said that Mr Biden had won the debate and questioned the “truthiness” of Mr Trump’s claims regarding immigration and tax, including that the economy had soared under his rule.

However, Mr Newsom will often be sent out to defend his party in the place of the president and although he has said he will do his “small part” in the election campaign, he plans to travel across six sates and reportedly is in a very comfortable position in terms of support and funding.

Could Newsom replace Mr Biden before the US election?

Following the debate on Thursday, CNN analyst John King said that there was “panic” among senior Democrats who were considering going to the White House and asking Biden to step aside even though there were 130 days to go until the election.

Former advisor to President Barack Obama, Van Jones, said: “That was painful. He [Biden] did not do well at all…he had a test to meet and he did not do that”.

Meanwhile, the national broadcaster MNSBC described Mr Newsom as a “Biden surrogate” whilst his hometown paper, the San Francisco Chronicle said he was “mentally checking himself out of California and into the White House”.