New poll finds this candidate as Dems’ No. 1 pick for 2028
Democratic primary voters now see California Gov. Gavin Newsom as their top choice for president in 2028, according to a new poll.
The new Emerson College poll , released on Aug. 29, found Newsom receiving support from 25% of surveyed Democratic primary voters.
Newsom's standing among primary voters has skyrocketed from Emerson's June poll . In that poll, Newsom was only the third most popular candidate for president, earning only 12% support.
"Governor Newsom's support surged across key demographic groups, highlighted by a 12-point increase among voters under 30 (6% to 18%) an 18-point increase among voters over 70 (13% to 31%), and a 14-point increase among both Black (9% to 23%) and White (10% to 24%) voters," Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in the survey's analysis.
In a hypothetical 2028 matchup against Vice President JD Vance, 44% said they would vote for Newsom and 44% said they would vote for Vance. Only 12% of voters reported being undecided.
The number of voters who said they would choose Newsom in a general election increased from Emerson's previous poll in July . In that survey, 45% of voters said they would vote for Vance, while 42% said they would vote for Newsom.
Throughout August, Newsom and his press office have repeatedly used social media to mock President Donald Trump.
Such trolling includes mimicking Trump's posts on Truth Social by writing them in all capital letters and creating an online merchandise store selling memorabilia similar to Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) items.
One of these products sold at Newsom's online shop is a red hat reading, "Newsom was right about everything," mocking a red hat that said "Trump was right about everything" that the president wore last week.
Newsom also has stepped into the spotlight as a foil to the Republican Party.
In recent months, Newsom has been pushing forward a ballot proposition that asks voters whether California can move forward on redrawing its congressional map in response to Texas Republicans redrawing their state's congressional districts.
The Texas redistricting could net Republicans five more seats in Congress and was pushed by Trump, who said Republicans were "entitled" to these seats, according to Politico .
Voters in California will head to the polls on Nov. 4 to decide whether newly drawn districts can be approved. The newly drawn districts, if approved, could help Democrats flip five seats, according to the New York Times .
The number two choice for Democrats in the Emerson August poll was former Biden administration Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Buttigieg earned support from 16% of the respondents, the same amount of support he received in the June poll.
His support among white voters has remained the same (22% in both polls) but he lost support among Latino voters (from 10% in June to 2% in August) and Asian voters (from 12% in June to 0% in August).
Buttigieg has also failed to gain support among Black voters, earning 0% support in both the June and August polls.
His standing has also dropped among voters aged 18 to 29 (from 7% in June to 3% in August), voters aged 40 to 49 (from 15% in June to 13% in August) voters 50 to 59 (from 21% in June to 19% in August) and voters aged 70 and older (from 20% in June to 17% in August).
He did, however, gain support among voters aged 30 to 39 (from 9% in June to 16% in August) and among voters aged 60 to 69 (from 17% in June to 24% in August).
In the June poll, Buttigieg was the top pick for president among Democrats, with Vice President Kamala Harris earning second place with 13%.
In the August poll, however, Harris's support dropped by 2%, leaving her in third place with 11%.
Harris's standing increased among Black voters (from 30% in June to 44% in August) and Hispanic voters (from 11% in June to 25% in August) but she lost support among white voters (from 7% in June to 4% in August) and Asian voters (from 12% in June to 0% in August).
The former vice president also lost ground among voters aged 30 to 39 (from 19% in June to 14% in August) voters aged 40 to 49 (from 14% in June to 7% in August) voters aged 50 to 59 (from 10% in June to 5% in August) voters 60 to 69 (from 10% in June to 7% in August) and voters aged 70 and older (7% in June to 3% in August). Her standing among voters aged 18 to 29, however, rose from 19% in June to 39% in August.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is the fourth-most popular choice among Democratic primary voters, earning 5% of the support.
Tied for fifth place are Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY., who both took 4% support among voters, according to the poll.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was the sixth most popular choice with 3% support, while Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer all tied for seventh with 2% support each.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., tied for eighth place with 1% each, according to the poll.
A total of 3% of voters said they would choose "someone else" and 16% said they are undecided.
The August survey asked 387 Democratic Primary voters who they would choose as the 2028 presidential nominee. The question was fielded between Aug. 25 and Aug. 26 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9%, according to the poll's analysis.
The national poll, which included the hypothetical 2028 matchup between Vance and Newsom, featured a sample size of 1,000 registered voters and was also conducted between Aug. 25 and Aug. 26. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.
The poll's full results can be viewed by clicking this link .
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Read the original article on MassLive .
