Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) says Democrats need to become more “culturally normal” and spend less time focused on debates over pronouns and identity politics, as he believes the party should put greater emphasis on economic concerns affecting voters’ daily lives.
“No doubt that the Democratic Party needs to be, dare I say, more culturally normal. I believe that less prone to spending disproportionate amount of time on pronouns, identity politics, more focused on table top issues, things that really matter, the stacking of stress in terms of electricity bills and child care costs, and healthcare, and obviously housing costs,” Newsom said in an interview on CNN’s Inside Politics Monday.
Newsom’s comments come on the eve of the his book release, Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, and speculation continues to grow that he will run for president in 2028. They also arrive as Democrats reassess their political strategy following recent election cycles in which cultural debates — particularly around gender identity and pronouns — became a major point of attack from Republicans.
“How easily we get trapped in that, how I’ve fallen prey to that,” Newsom added. “I mean, here I was way out front on marriage equality. So I understand this.”
In the 2025 elections, several Democrats saw success by centering campaigns on affordability and other “kitchen table” issues rather than cultural fights. In Virginia, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger focused heavily on economic concerns and public safety, a strategy some Democrats now see as a model for the party moving forward.
“I’m a mother of three daughters in Virginia public schools, and nothing is more important to me than their safety and their experience in school,” Spanberger said during a Virginia debate when asked about transgender issues in schools. “I’m also a former federal agent who worked to investigate crimes against children, and nothing is more important to me than the safety of all of our children.”
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Republicans, including then-Virginia GOP candidate Winsome Earle-Sears during that gubernatorial cycle, frequently leaned into cultural issues, such as transgender policies in schools and parental rights debates.
DNC Chair Ken Martin has focused the party on a “back to basics” approach, shifting the Democratic Party’s messaging on “kitchen table issues” — such as the economy, jobs, and health care — while framing transgender issues as a component of personal freedom, rather than a divisive “culture war” topic.