I'm a Republican, and I Don’t Like Newsom — But He Deserves Credit on This
The GOP must learn from him or lose in 2028.
I’ve criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom on TV. I’ve condemned his record on taxes, crime, homelessness, and cost of living — and I stand by every word.
But I’m an America First conservative, not a partisan one. That means when a Democrat does something that actually works for America, I have to say so. On climate, energy, and health care, Mr. Newsom has done some things right. And if Republicans can’t acknowledge that and offer something better, they’re going to lose the middle — and with it 2028.
The crown jewel here is California’s cap-and-trade program — now called Cap-and-Invest — which Mr. Newsom extended until 2045. As the program’s pollution cap declines, so do the number of permits for emitters to release greenhouse gases. Utilities receive free allowances to protect ratepayers, while revenue from the program funds direct rebates on energy bills.
In short, polluters pay, markets allocate reduction costs effectively, and revenues offset burdens for families — all while the private sector is further incentivized to invest in clean tech. In a country where a majority of voters think climate change should be a top priority and 40 percent of young Republicans think humans are the primary cause of climate change, Mr. Newsom is harnessing the market to tackle a bipartisan issue.
Next, energy. Thanks to modernized grids that combine renewables with storage, California added record clean capacity and went three years without Flex Alerts, voluntary calls to conserve energy. His 2025 energy package went even further by opening a Western regional power market for cross-border trading, lowering transmission-build costs, and protecting ratepayers from wildfire-driven rate hikes.
Rather than mandate from the top down, Mr. Newsom once again led with market-driven policies that let supply meet demand more efficiently. Private players — utilities and tech firms — aren’t deploying the technology because of blank checks from government grants; they’re using it because the economics make sense. For moderates concerned about reliability and energy costs, this approach beats both fossil-fuel lock-in and unreliable green dreams. It delivers affordable, accessible power without adding structural debt.
Even on health care — a notoriously tricky issue — Mr. Newsom has led course-correction efforts that align with conservative principles. Medi-Cal expansions, including coverage for some undocumented immigrants, pushed costs far beyond projections in 2025, adding $6.2 billion in a single year. That alone shifted the state from surplus into deficit.
Rather than pressing on with unsustainable spending, Mr. Newsom’s recent budgets impose real limits: freezing new enrollments for certain groups, reinstating asset tests for seniors and the disabled, ending some supplemental benefits, and applying work requirements. While I believe there is room to do more, these ongoing savings measures are projected to reach nearly $9 billion annually once fully implemented.
Medi-Cal remains a public program, so this isn’t a full market overhaul, but it rejects the “spend first, worry later” approach. The focus is on keeping coverage reasonable and sustainable for low-income Californians rather than increasing debt for political gain. In a state budget under constant pressure, prioritizing fiscal stability over unchecked expansion appeals to moderates and conservatives wary of entitlement bloat.
Mr. Newsom is far from flawless. California’s cost of living is among the worst in the nation — housing, energy bills, and everyday expenses are crushing middle-class families. Crime and homelessness in L.A. and San Francisco remain persistent failures despite billions in spending. The high-speed-rail project is an embarrassing fiscal catastrophe. But his pragmatic streak on key issues is, nonetheless, proving effective.
Decarbonization, grid modernization, and entitlement reform take time to yield clear results. But Mr. Newsom has an eye on addressing middle-class concerns, and he’s making progress on accessibility and affordability without a government-spending model that blows up budgets.
Republicans should take notice. While some members of my party continue to double down on a gin-up-the-base approach, beating the dead horse of the “radical-socialist left,” Mr. Newsom is successfully executing a strategy of triangulation. I expect by 2028, measurable data will show success and scalability — which will position the governor as a top presidential contender with a market-oriented track record behind him.
This is all the more reason for Republicans to enter the conversation on these issues now. We can’t count on voters coming to the polls for our party simply because they are afraid of the other side. We must offer them solutions that answer their genuine concerns — on energy, on climate, on health care, on everything.
Mr. Newsom isn’t winning because he’s a Democrat. He’s winning because he’s offering answers. If Republicans don’t respond, we’ll give him the center — and the next election.
Chet Love is CEO of Cornerstone Group.
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