California’s role in shaping the fate of the Democratic Party on display

California's potential to lead a Democratic comeback was on full display when party leaders from across the country recently gathered in downtown Los Angeles.

But is the party ready to bet on the Golden State?

Appearances at the Democratic National Committee meeting by the state's most prominent Democrats, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Gavin Newsomcrystallized the danger and promise of California's appeal. Harris failed to defeat politically wounded Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race, and Newsom, now among President Trump's most famous criticsis considered the leading Democratic contender to replace the Republican president in the White House in 2028.

California's policies on divisive issues such as providing expanded access to public health care, aid for undocumented immigrants and support for LGBTQ+ rights have continually served as a Rorschach test for the country's polarized electorate, providing comfort for progressives and ammunition for Republican attack ads.

“California is like your cool cousin who comes for the holidays and is intriguing and glamorous but may not fit into the family year-round,” said Elizabeth Ashford, a veteran Democratic strategist who has worked for former governors. Jerry Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harris when she was state attorney general.

Newsom, in particular, is proud that California is home to the world's fourth-largest economy, a billion-dollar agricultural industry, and economic and cultural hubs in Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Critics, chief among them Trump, paint the state as a dystopian hellhole, dotted with homeless encampments and lawlessness, plagued by high taxes and an even higher cost of living.

Only two Californians were elected president: Republicans Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. But that was generations ago, and Harris and Newsom are considering proposals to end the multi-year drought in 2028. Both seized on the moment by wooing party leaders and activists during the Democratic National Committee's three-day winter meeting that ended Saturday.

Harris, speaking to committee members and guests Friday, said the party's victories in state elections across the country in November reflect voters' anxiety about the consequences of Trump's policies, particularly health care affordability and spending. But she said “both parties have failed to gain the public's trust.”

“So as we plan for what comes after this administration, we cannot afford to become nostalgic for what has in fact been a flawed status quo and a system that has failed so many of you,” said Harris, who has been criticized since her presidential campaign for not paying enough attention to kitchen table issues, including the growing financial strain Americans face.

While Harris who ruled out running for governor earlier this yearWhile she didn't say whether she would make another bid for the White House in 2028, she said the party needs to think about its future.

“We need to answer the question of what's next for our party and our democracy, and in doing so we need to be honest that for many, the American Dream has become more of a myth than a reality,” she said.

Many of the party leaders who spoke at the meeting focused on California's possible role in determining control of Congress. after voters approved Proposition 50 in Novembera rare redrawing of congressional districts mid-decade to increase the number of Democrats in the state's congressional delegation in the 2026 elections.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass rallied the crowd by reminding them that Democrats took back the U.S. House of Representatives during Trump's first term and predicted the state would be crucial in next year's midterm elections.

Newsom, who championed Proposition 50, savored the victory as he walked through hotel hallways for a Democratic National Committee meeting the day before, stopping every few feet to talk to committee members, shake their hands and take selfies.

“There’s just a sense of optimism here,” Newsom said.

Democratic candidates in New Jersey and Virginia also won races by significant margins last month in what party leaders said was a clear sign of growing dissatisfaction among voters with Trump and Washington's Republican leadership.

“The party, more broadly, has gotten its sea legs back, and they're winning,” Newsom said. “And winning solves a lot of problems.”

Louisiana State Committeewoman Katie Darling teared up as she watched fellow Democrats flock to Newsom.

“He's really trying to bring people together in a very difficult time,” said Darling, who grew up in Sacramento in a Republican family. “He gets a lot of pushback for talking and working with Republicans, but when he does, I see him talking to my mom and dad, who I love, who I strongly disagree with politically… I really think we need to talk to each other to move the country forward.”

Darling said she listens to Newsom's podcast, which talks about his choice of guests, including the late Charlie Kirk, and his comments on the show, which transgender athletes participating in women's sports is “deeply unfair”, causing outrage among some on the left.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, another potential 2028 presidential candidate whose family has historically supported Newsom, was also reportedly on site Thursday holding meetings behind closed doors. And former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, also a possible White House contender, was in Los Angeles on Thursday, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show and holding meetings.

Corrin Rankin, chairman of the California Republican Party, called the Democratic National Committee meetings in Los Angeles “anti-Trump sessions” and pointed to homeless encampments on Skid Row, just a few blocks from where committee members were meeting.

“We need accountability and solutions that actually get people off the streets, make communities safer and make life more affordable,” Rankin said.

Elected officials from across the country are drawn to California because of its wealthy political donors. The state was the largest source of donations to the Trump and Harris campaigns during the 2024 presidential election, contributing nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, according to Open Secrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks election finances.

While the Democratic National Committee meeting focused largely on mundane domestic affairs, the meeting of party leaders attracted the attention of liberal groups seeking to raise money and attention for their causes.

Actor Jane Fonda and comedian Nikki Glaser headlined an event aimed at raising the minimum wage at cocktail bar Three Clubs in Hollywood. California already has one of the highest minimum wages in the country; One of the event's organizers is advocating for an increase to $30 an hour in some California counties.

“The affordability crisis is pushing millions of Americans over the edge, and no democracy can survive if people working full-time cannot afford basic necessities,” Fonda said before the event. “Raising wages is one of the most powerful ways to give families stability and hope.”

But California's liberal policies are seen as a liability for Democrats elsewhere, where issues such as transgender rights and health care for undocumented immigrants have not been warmly received by some of the workers who once made up the party's base.

Trump took advantage of that controversy in the final months of the 2024 presidential election, when his campaign aired ads highlighting Harris' support for transgender rights, including taxpayer-funded gender confirmation surgery for prisoners.

“Kamala for them/them, President Trump for you,” the ad said. The ad aired more than 30,000 times in swing states this fall, especially during football games and NASCAR races.

“Kamala had 99 problems. California was not one of them,” said John Podesta, a veteran Democratic strategist who was a senior adviser to former President Biden, an adviser to former President Obama and former President Clinton's White House chief of staff.

He disputed the argument that California, whether through its policies or candidates, will affect Democrats' chances, arguing that there is a broader divide between the party and its voters.

“The sense that Democrats have lost touch with the middle class and the poor in favor of the cultural elite is a real problem,” Podesta said. “My shorthand is: We used to be the factory floor party, and now we're the faculty lounge party. This is not a California problem. It's an elitist problem.”

While Podesta is not yet endorsing anyone in the 2028 presidential election, he praised Newsom for his efforts not only to confront Trump but also “left-wing extremists” in the Democratic Party.

The narrative that Californians are out of touch with many Americans has deepened this year during the state's battles with the Trump administration over immigration, climate change, water resources and artificial intelligence policy. But Newsom and committee members argue the state is at the forefront of where the nation will ultimately go.

“I'm very proud of California. This is a state that is not just about growth, but about inclusion,” the governor said before ticking off a list of California initiatives including low insulin prices and raising the minimum wage. “Much of the policy coming out of the state of California is promoting not just promises, but a policy direction that I think is really important for the party.”