At a private fundraiser in the middle of Donald Trump’s America, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was on a mission

for

to help President Biden.

Newsom, who hit the road during the

July

fourth

4

of the July holiday weekend, a group of about 50 Democrats gathered in the backyard of a mansion overlooking the Boise foothills on Saturday to make the “powerful case for why we should be passionate and excited about Biden’s re-election.”

At a time when states like Idaho, where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 4 to 1,

successfully

Newsom legislated to restrict abortion and gay rights and advance other culturally divisive pillars of the GOP agenda. According to Newsom, there was only one man who could turn the tide: Biden.

The 80-year-old president

had

used his

first four

years in office to aggressively fight for Democratic priorities, Newsom told them, including LGBTQ+ rights, gun control and clean energy, as they rebuild the US economy post-COVID and keep democracy afloat.

I’m really proud of this president, and I hope you are too,” Newsom said

to a crowd delighted with one of the party’s rising stars

in their midst

.

Saturday’s swing through Idaho not only energized Biden’s much-neglected base in such a conservative corner of the West. It helped build a future for Newsom.

Many of the Democrats who gathered to hear Newsom speak in Idaho and at a separate fundraising event earlier that day in Bend, Oregon, said they thought the 55-year-old liberal governor offered a window into their party’s future,

the A

bolder, more charismatic and younger

potential

heir to Biden’s estate in the post-Trump years.

He looks like an incredible presidential candidate, said Russ Buschert, an Idaho Democratic Party trustee.

Michele Anderson, a Bend real estate agent and former Bay Area resident, praised Newsom for using his “pretty impressive” voice and willingness to take a stand on the most critical issues facing the nation. faced while

other

pushing back against Republicans who are undermining the progress made during the country’s recent history.

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I appreciate a lot what Joe Biden has done, but I think it’s time for that next generation of leaders as well,” Anderson said. “And I see Gavin Newsom being part of that.

news sum

it says

says he has no interest in the White House

,

and that his travels around the country are to promote his party and president

for

before the 2024 elections.

But his stumping for Biden makes Newsom beautiful to others

future

job prospects, said Rob Stutzman, a

GOP

Republican adviser in California. His audience

feuding with Republicans fills a “gap” in his party and sends a signal that he is a Democrat willing and unafraid to take on the GOP’s MAGA wing, a crusade that will help raise Newsom’s national profile and builds a database of supporters along the way.

“He puts in time and effort that no one else outside the White House seems to have,” Stutzman said. “He’s acting like the waiting candidate.

“One day it may pay off for him.”

The visit to Idaho, which marked the start of Newsom’s second tour of the red states in the past

few months

was all about stoking enthusiasm for Biden’s performance and touting party achievements while showering beleaguered local Democrats with some love, attention and a little campaign money from his Campaign for Democracy political action committee.

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Newsom cut off the Idaho Democrat

ic party

a check for $10,000 for the event, the maximum allowed;

and just

it’s a piece of the more than $3 million he funneled to Biden and Democrats in Republican-led states like Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi

in the past three months.

This week he will

So

have private meetings with Democrats in Montana during an annual family vacation on July 4, with a layover

planned

later

in the week

in Utah.

The upheaval of Republican-led states gives Newsom a chance to remind local Democrats of their importance in fighting back against what he described as a GOP-led “entitlement regression.”

Do you think Trump, if he comes back to office, is not going to demand a third term? Give me a break, Newsom said. Do you think January 6 is the last we’re going to see… Give me a break.”

Newsom’s foray into the national political arena has evolved since last year, when he tore his party apart for not being aggressive enough in the face of Republican victories at the local, state and national levels, including on the US Supreme Court.

I’m just trying to move from lamentation and criticism to action and responsibility,” Newsom said in an interview with The Times

in Boise.

“No one wants to hear a critic. What are you going to do? And I had to answer the ‘what am I going to do’ question.

“

I’m trying to build something,” he said. “But I’m trying to be

complementary

of the work already being done.”

But Newsom also faces any side effects from his campaigns in red states like Idaho, one of the top states Californians flee to, according to data analyzed by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. During Newsom’s tenure as governor, California has seen a surge in homelessness and a worsening housing shortage and affordability crisis.

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California’s far-left governor came to Boise to raise money for Idaho Democrats… Because they don’t want to live as serfs in Prince Gavin’s kingdom. I’m pretty sure his visit here to normal America violates some travel restriction in California.

said Jessica Millan Patterson, president of the California Republican Party

from California

the state’s struggle should “serve as a warning to the rest of the nation”.

“As Newsom runs a shadow presidential campaign, it’s becoming increasingly clear that he wants to take his home state failures straight to the White House,” Millan Patterson said in a statement. “You don’t want what Gavin Newsom is selling.

Newsom has dismissed those criticisms as tired Republican talking points

,

and a distraction from the cultural problems that entails

serves as the basis for underlying

his journey.

I’m not giving a stupid speech in California, never in any of the red states I’ve been to,” he said, adding that his assignment is not a “Visit California” campaign. I talk about the Democratic Party and our values, and I think there’s a lot to brag about in that regard.

Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant and co-founder of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project, said Newsom’s brand appeals to Democrats across the country, including in swing states, who are looking for a leader who ” impudent and unashamed” the defense against Republicans.

As Democrats in recent decades have focused on the economy and shied away from the more diverse cultural issues of their time, Madrid said, Newsom said

attention and

focus on LGBTQ+ and transgender rights, on gun control and environmental issues appeals to his party’s white-collar, educated members, along with certain Latino voters

Calm

looking for a political home.

That could be a winning strategy in a deeply divided America in the middle of a

heated

culture

S

was, said Madrid. While voters look for a champion on cultural issues, “Gavin Newsom is that champion.”

For now, Newsom shrugs off the presidential compliments and hangs on

the to

the script.

I think that makes me humble, he said. But that’s not why I’m here.