Newsom’s support surges among Democrats ahead of 2028: Poll
by Caroline Vakil - 08/29/25 6:00 AM ET
Support for California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) as the 2028 Democratic presidential nominee is surging, according to a new poll.
An Emerson College Polling survey released on Friday showed 25 percent of Democratic primary voters saying they would support Newsom as the nominee, a jump from the 12 percent he received in a similar poll conducted in June.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg received support from 16 percent of respondents, consistent with what he received in June, while former Vice President Harris’s support slid from 13 percent in the June poll to 11 percent in Friday’s poll.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), former US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) all received less than 10 percent support each.
The polling indicated that 3 percent wanted someone else, while close to 16 percent were undecided.
While Newsom received the highest share of support, the survey also showed that no candidate had notched at least half of the Democratic primary electorate several years out from the presidential primaries.
“Governor Newsom’s support surged across key demographic groups, highlighted by a 12-point increase among voters under 30 (6% to 18%) an 18-point increase among voters over 70 (13% to 31%), and a 14-point increase among both Black (9% to 23%) and White (10% to 24%) voters,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, explained in a press release.
Newsom has drawn increasing national attention in a broader redistricting battle playing out across the country. Texas Republicans, under pressure from the White House and President Trump, passed a new House map that looks to help Republicans net five seats ahead of 2026.
The map is expected to be signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) soon.
In response, Newsom and other Democrats from the Golden State have teed up a House map of their own that looks to offset Republicans’ expected gains in the Lone Star State. The map will go before voters in a special election in November.
Newsom has also taken to mocking Trump on X, writing posts in the same manner and style as the president as he’s sought to become one of the faces of Democrats’ efforts to fight back against the president in his second term.
The Emerson College Polling survey was conducted between Aug. 25 and Aug. 26 with the overall poll surveying 1,000 active registered voters, with a margin of error of 3 points. The poll surveyed 387 Democratic primary voters during that time span, with a
margin of error of 4.9 points. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5475487-newsom-support-democratic-primary-surge/
