SACRAMENTO, California — By the time Gavin Newsom slipped into the California Capitol building at 7 p.m. a couple days before the end of the legislative session, a sweeping, controversial package of energy legislation was already largely baked.
For weeks, the California governor had been dispatching aides to lean on Democratic lawmakers and negotiate the finer details of a suite of bills designed to shore up the state’s utilities and refineries. He privately threatened a special session if lawmakers didn’t go along with his priorities. Many Democratic lawmakers grumbled, but they ultimately went along — their votes reflecting the expanding power in Sacramento of a leading Democratic contender for the presidential nomination in 2028.
In a dynamic not unlike the one his rival Ron DeSantis exploited in Tallahassee in the run-up to his own, unsuccessful presidential campaign — where DeSantis leaned on Republican supermajorities in Florida to supercharge his policies — Newsom is tightening his grip on the Democratic governing class and getting results in the nation’s most populous state in service of his aims.
“When the governor weighs in personally, it can be quite impactful,” said Sen. Josh Becker, who was deeply involved in the energy negotiations. Newsom, said another state lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak freely, “goes on calling sprees to members for the things he really cares about.”
