Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is set to launch a book tour later this month, making his first stops in red states ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The governor, widely viewed as a possible contender in the 2028 Democratic presidential race, has framed his memoir tour as an opportunity to connect with voters in parts of the country where Democrats have struggled in presidential and midterm elections.
Newsom will begin the tour later this month to promote his new memoir, Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, ahead of its Feb. 24 release date. Newsom will give Southerners a taste of his California politics in Nashville, Tennessee, before heading to Atlanta, Georgia, and Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Other tour stops include New York and cities in Newsom’s home state, including San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The first three states Newsom plans to visit all voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Newsom will likely find more friends than foes in Nashville and Atlanta, as both cities voted primarily for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
Rock Hill voters sided with Trump, although the city is less than 30 miles from blue-voting Charlotte, North Carolina.
Newsom said his memoir will cover his early life and his time as mayor and governor. He told the Democratic National Committee that it is not a “politician’s book,” but its release comes as Democrats are gearing up for midterm elections.
Hitting the South on a book tour is not a unique play by Newsom. Harris has also been traveling extensively on her own book tour for 107 Days, a memoir detailing her 2024 presidential campaign.
Harris’s tour, which began last year, was recently extended to visit several swing states and South Carolina.
The strategies implemented by Newsom and Harris aim to sustain engagement in the South and other areas critical to national political races.
National political strategists have categorized book tours as a way for political figures to tell their stories or to introduce themselves to possible voters.
Newsom and Harris are among a field of well-known Democrats who have written books and are heading on tour.
BOOKS BY POLITICIANS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2026 AHEAD OF MIDTERM ELECTIONS
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) announced a tour promoting his book, Stand, which he said “offers a hopeful and urgent call to action rooted in enduring American ideals.” It will be released on March 24.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) launched his first memoir, titled Where We Keep the Light: Stories From a Life of Service, in January. The book discusses Shapiro’s personal and political life.