carolinajournal.com · Andrew Pomeranz · September 8, 2026
Newsom rallies NC Democrats, urges focus on 2026 over 2028
## Andrew Pomeranz
September 8, 2026
Gavin Newsome speaking at the 2019 California Democratic Party State Convention. Photo is CC by Gage Skidmore.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged North Carolina Democrats to focus on state and down-ballot races in November rather than the next presidential election during a weekend swing through the Charlotte area.
Newsom joined Democratic volunteers in Charlotte on Saturday, Sept. 5, to canvass for former Gov. Roy Cooper’s US Senate campaign and Mecklenburg County Democrats before traveling to Monroe for a North Carolina Democratic Party rally.
The Monroe event at the Union County Agricultural & Event Complex featured NC Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton, Court of Appeals candidates Toby Hampson and Christine Walczyk, NC AFL-CIO president Braxton Winston and other Democratic candidates and groups. The party billed the event as a rally to “win up and down the ballot” heading into the Nov. 3 midterm election.
Newsom opened his remarks at the rally by reflecting on the political and social upheaval of recent years, thanking Democrats in attendance for continuing to participate despite what he described as a difficult political environment.
“The last seven years have been hard, really ever since that guy came down the escalator,” Newsom said, referring to President Donald Trump’s 2015 announcement of his first presidential campaign. “But give yourself grace for what you’ve been through, in COVID, what you went through, all the social unrest, George Floyd.”
Newsom then turned his criticism directly toward Trump and broader cultural disputes that have played out across the country.
“And then the polarization, the talking down to people, talking past people, all the book bans, cultural purge, people out there censoring historical facts,” Newsom said. “The president of the United States who wants to put America in reverse.”
Newsom framed those concerns as part of the stakes of the November election, arguing that the country is confronting fundamental questions about its institutions as it marks its 250th anniversary.
“This election, it’s it. It’s the 250th anniversary of our Founding Fathers, and we’re having this conversation in the United States of America,” Newsom said. “We should be celebrating the best of what America has to offer. We should be celebrating the rule of law, not the rule of Don.”
“Rule of Don” is a phrase Newsom has repeatedly used in criticizing Trump.
Newsom also warned Democrats about disputes surrounding the administration of this year’s election, including an ongoing federal fight over mail ballots.
“Trying to nationalize these elections, trying to take the voting rolls,” Newsom said. “It’s happening in real time.”
Beyond his criticism of Trump, Newsom used much of the speech to argue that Democrats need to change their political strategy and devote more attention to state and down-ballot contests.
“We have to fight fire with fire,” Newsom said. “The game has changed. Our politics has changed. That means we need to change.”
Newsom said part of that change should involve paying greater attention to races below the presidential level.
“It’s about the down-ballot races,” Newsom said. “That’s what matters, not just top down. It’s all on the line.”
Newsom urged Democrats in Monroe to focus on the election immediately ahead and become more active during the final two months of the midterm campaign.
“It’s time to get serious. It’s time to step up, step in,” Newsom said. “It’s time to feel a sense of pride and optimism again about this country because there’s so much to be grateful for. We just can’t take it for granted anymore.”
The visit also drew criticism from North Carolina Republicans.
A spokesperson for Republican US Senate candidate Michael Whatley also responded to Newsom’s visit and his support for Cooper.
“Radical Roy Cooper and his best friend Gavin Newsom are rallying today to bring California’s ‘progressive’ agenda to North Carolina,” a spokesperson for Whatley said Saturday. “Newsflash for Cooper — North Carolina wants nothing to do with the radical destruction Newsom has unleashed onto his state.”
The latest Carolina Journal Poll, conducted Aug. 9-10 among 600 likely North Carolina voters, found Cooper leading Whatley 51.5% to 39%, a 12.5-point advantage. Cooper’s lead had grown from 11.1 points in May, with the former governor also leading among independent voters, 55% to 34%.
His visit comes as speculation continues to surround Newsom’s own political future. The California governor has become one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent national figures and is widely discussed as a possible 2028 presidential candidate. His trip through the Southeast, which included stops in several Southern states, drew additional attention to those prospects.
North Carolina became the first state in the country to begin sending absentee ballots for the 2026 general election on Sept. 4, one day before Newsom’s visit. Election Day is Nov. 3.