California Gov. Gavin Newsom was asked whether Democrats should work more ideas from Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidates into the party’s broader platform. His answer was not that the ideas should be imported later. It was that many already are.
During a portion of an interview aired Monday on PBS NewsHour, co-host Amna Nawaz pointed to wins by DSA candidates and DSA-aligned figures in Democratic primaries, naming Donavan McKinney in Michigan, Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, while noting that El-Sayed does not identify as DSA.
Nawaz asked whether ideas from those candidates and that platform, which she described as energizing the Democratic base and turnout, should be worked into the broader Democratic platform.
‘I Think They Are’
According to the quoted exchange reported by Breitbart, Newsom replied, “I think they are.”
Newsom then pointed to climate and energy policy as an example, saying part of the DSA platform is “about recognizing that we’ve got a planet that is getting hotter and drier, and that we’ve got to address the issue of climate change, and we want energy security, and we want to move off fossil fuels.”
“That’s a DSA position,” Newsom said, according to the report. “That’s a mainstream position within the Democrat Party.”
The governor’s answer matters because it did not frame DSA-linked policy priorities as wholly outside Democratic politics. Instead, he described at least some overlap between DSA priorities and positions he characterized as mainstream in the party.
Medicare for All and Public Financing
The source material also says Newsom referenced Medicare for All and publicly financed campaigns as ideas associated with the DSA conversation that have broader support among Democrats.
Newsom was quoted as saying he believes in Medicare for All and that “the party does overwhelmingly.” The source also says he treated public financing of campaigns as another area where DSA-aligned ideas and Democratic priorities overlap.
Those remarks do not, by themselves, establish that every Democrat supports the full DSA platform. But they do show Newsom arguing that some policies commonly tied to DSA candidates are not politically isolated within the Democratic coalition.
The Label Fight
Newsom also reportedly downplayed the importance of the “socialist” label, comparing DSA-aligned politics with other progressive or third-party traditions. His point, as presented in the source, was that the label may matter less than the specific policies being debated.
That distinction is likely to fuel competing interpretations. Supporters of the policies may argue that climate action, expanded health care and campaign finance changes are mainstream responses to real problems. Critics will likely argue that Newsom’s comments confirm a leftward shift inside the Democratic Party.
What the interview clearly provided was a direct answer from one of the country’s most prominent Democratic governors: when asked whether DSA ideas should be worked into the party’s platform, Newsom said he believes they already are.
