Why is Gavin Newsom not running for reelection here? He's obviously safe. As is Andrew Cuomo.
I have Newsom running for the Senate with Kamala now VP.
Cuomo's only not safe in the sense that a Working Families nominee (if that isn't Cuomo) could draw votes from him.
Baker's going to face a tougher opponent than he got in 2018. Kennedy's got nothing to do, and as has been previously noted, it's unlikely he runs for anything other than Governor or Senator (if Warren ends up in the Cabinet.)
I doubt Newsom has any interest in being a senator. My impression is that he enjoys being executive guy and that he wouldn't forgo a second term as chief executive of the most populous state. A lot of governors who join the senate get frustrated over the job. Especially when they were in charge of larger states.
Even if Working Families ran a candidate, I doubt he would get much more than 4-5%. Cuomo is governor as long as he wants it. I could see him joining a Biden Administration though.
Agreed that Newsom would rather be Governor, but he will be term limited in 2026, and I could see him running for Senate at some point. If I had to guess...
-Kamala Harris gets elected VP this year, and Newsom appoints someone to her seat that will run for the full term (I predict he’ll appoint Alex Padilla).
-Newsom runs for re-election in 2022 and wins.
-If Feinstein retires in 2024, Newsom runs for her Senate seat and wins. If Feinstein doesn’t retire, or Newsom loses the Senate race, Newsom serves the rest of his term as Governor and either gears up to run for president some day, or goes to work in the private sector.
