In case you were wondering how seriously Gavin Newsom is taking California’s crippling budget deficit problem, the answer is: not very. Today he’s on a swing through South Carolina before heading to Nevada to campaign for Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, leaving behind California’s mounting issues in the process.

As Biden’s approval rating continues to hit record  lows,  of course Newsom jumped at the opportunity to build his own national profile and get in front of voters in critical early states. When you’re running your own shadow presidential campaign, why wouldn’t you?

Newsom’s not exactly in an ideal position to tell voters about the benefits of Democrat leadership. His presidential campaign swing comes just two weeks after explaining to Californians how he’d turned a record  $100 billion budget surplus into a  $38 billion  budget deficit. That budget projection, using his Gavin math, was about as delusional as his presidential prospects, however, since the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office projected the budget deficit to actually be  $20 billion to  $30 billion higher. 

”If the best idea Joe Biden’s campaign could come up with was unleashing a failed governor into the early states, you know they’re in trouble. Newsom should have a great campaign swing telling his story, as long as no one asks him how things are going in California with regard to homelessness, crime, affordability,  population decline,  U-Haul rentals,  student test scores,  gas prices,  unemployment, budget deficits, or  everyone’s favorite burger joint. On second thought, maybe he should just pose for pictures.”  – CAGOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson