Newsom Says Democrats Lack Self-Reflection After 2024 Defeat

The California governor says failure to confront 2024 mistakes could doom Democrats again in 2026 and hand Republicans another victory in 2028.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with oil pumps in the background in Los Angeles on Sep. 25, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging his own party to confront its 2024 election losses with honest self-examination, warning that without serious introspection, Democrats are destined to fail again.

In an exclusive interview with The Hill published on April 22, Newsom said Democratic leaders have yet to engage in a deep exploration of why they lost the White House, failed to reclaim the House, and saw their Senate majority evaporate in November.

“We have not done a forensic of what just went wrong, period, full stop,” Newsom said during the sit-down interview. “I don’t think it, I know it.”

The two-term governor, who is widely viewed as a possible 2028 presidential contender, said his party’s silence in the face of defeat reflects a broader crisis of identity and leadership.

“I don’t know what the party is,” he added. “I’m still struggling with that.”

As Democrats look toward the 2026 midterms and the long lead-up to the 2028 presidential election, Newsom is concerned that without an honest audit of recent failures, the party may find itself locked out of power once again.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for comment on Newsom’s remarks.

Meanwhile, Democrats remain divided over the party’s future, with ongoing tensions between establishment figures, progressive firebrands, and moderates seeking to reframe the party’s national appeal.

While progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) continue to attract large crowds, Newsom questioned whether their brand of politics can deliver a national electoral victory for Democrats.

“It’s great. It meets the moment. It meets the zeitgeist, the energy,” Newsom said of recent progressive rallies. He then said that energy alone won’t be enough to retake the White House in 2028.

Meanwhile, the DNC is attempting to regroup under new leadership after the February election of Ken Martin, a longtime Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair, as the party’s new national chairman. Martin, a pragmatic Midwestern strategist with a strong record of local wins, promised to rebuild the party’s grassroots infrastructure, reconnect with working-class voters, and go on offense against President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda.

“We got punched in the mouth in November,” Martin said following his victory. “It’s time to get off the mat, dust ourselves off, and get back in this fight.”

Martin’s ascension came after outgoing chair Jaime Harrison declined to seek another term following the party’s across-the-board losses in the November election. While some Democrats pushed for a more prominent or progressive figure, Martin secured the post on the first ballot, backed by many who saw his quiet effectiveness as key to rebuilding in the heartland.

Newsom’s critique highlights what some see as a persistent disconnect between party leadership and rank-and-file frustration—particularly among those who believe the party has yet to fully reckon with why its message fell flat in 2024.

A new Gallup poll conducted from April 1–14 found that public confidence in Democratic congressional leadership has fallen to a record low—just 25 percent, down nine points from the previous low in 2023. Confidence in Republican congressional leadership, by comparison, rose slightly to 39 percent—14 points higher than Democrats and well above the GOP’s recent average.

The numbers come as influential former Democrat-aligned figures such as Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have moved closer to Trump’s platform, signaling a broader shift among some once-reliable Democratic voters.