I watched the Newsom vs DeSantis debate near the end of last year and Newsom was so well spoken and articulate that I almost forgot he's a flaming liberal who drove his state into the ground. I caught myself liking the guy even though I don't agree with him on virtually anything.
I agree with the others. Newsom is polished enough where people will forgive what he has done to CA and will just be thankful to have someone else to vote for who can string two sentences together without sounding like a nursing home resident or a schoolyard bully.
Cost of living Jim... partly due to having the best climate in the US by most people's standards. No governor can fix that issue. He was re-elected in a landslide. You have just been fed this BS about CA for years by the right wing media. Reality is that people still love CA and are not significantly impacted by politics. I personally know many conservatives down there who don't like Newson but would never leave.