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The California governor, a well-known member of the Democratic party, has revealed that he intends to make a decision about whether to run for president in 2028 following the 2026 congressional elections conclude.

"Yeah, it would be dishonest if I said no," the governor remarked when pressed about seriously considering a campaign for president after the 2026 midterms. "I'd just be lying. And I won't do that."

The governor's tenure as governor wraps up in January 2027, and he is ineligible for re-election. Yet, he noted that any decision is not imminent.

"The future will decide," he added.

Rising Profile as a Trump Critic

He has emerged as a prominent critic of the former president's team, leveraging his social media accounts and advocating for a proposition that would increase the party's House seats in following GOP gerrymandering. This action has made him a target from political opponents.

Controversy Over Funds

The former president's secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, accused that Newsom shows no concern about the state's residents in a Sunday interview on a major news network. Duffy disclosed a strategy to pull government money from the state and suggested suspending the power to provide CDLs.

"I'm about to pull a significant sum from California," he said, following a recent deadly accident in the state involving an non-citizen semi truck driver that resulted in fatalities and four injuries.

His administration highlighted that the federal government had reauthorized the worker's status repeatedly, which allowed him to obtain a trucking license under U.S. law.

The transportation secretary had before announced he was blocking $40m from California for ignoring language proficiency rules for truck drivers.

Pointed Reply from the Administration

"Ex-reality TV personality, now Secretary of Transportation, fails to grasp national statutes," the governor's team retorted in a previous comment countering the funding warnings. "Meanwhile, in contrast to this person, we'll stick to the facts: The state's CDL holders had a accident mortality rate significantly lower than the countrywide rate. Texas – the only state with more commercial holders – has a rate markedly elevated than California. Data speaks for itself. The federal leadership misleads."

Public Opinion and Future Prospects

A recent study revealed that 72% of Democrats and 48% of all registered voters believed that the governor must consider running for president in the next election cycle. After the current administration began, public support for the governor has grown to an mean of a third from approximately 30%, while his negative ratings has dropped from an typical level of more than 40% to under 40%.

Earlier this year, the governor stated while traveling several key regions that he had "uncertainty" about his plans for the next presidential election.

He also referenced his earlier challenges, including being diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of five.

"The notion that a individual who got 960 on his SAT, who still struggles to read scripts, who was typically not at the front – the idea that you would even throw that out is, alone, amazing," he commented. "It's anyone's guess? I await who steps forward in the next election and who meets that moment. And that remains the key point for the American people."