Newsom foresees "some concern" over crowded California governor's race, says Trump is "not screwing around"

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says it's a "tough conversation" to have as the search for his successor begins to heat up, but he acknowledged Tuesday that there's "some concern" with how crowded the Democratic field has become ahead of June's gubernatorial primary.

During an exclusive interview with CBS LA's Tom Wait, Newsom said he'd just read – and agreed with – an open letter from California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks urging candidates to assess their chances at the governorship.

"My first reaction is, I get why he sent it. There is some concern," Newsom said. "I think Rusty was wise to put that letter out."

Concerns among party leaders have grown as polling has consistently shown two Republicans at or near the top of California's open primary. 

According to February's Public Policy Institute of California Statewide Survey, conservative commentator Steve Hilton leads the wide-open race with 14% support among likely voters, followed by Democratic former Rep. Katie Porter (13%), Republican Riverside Co. Sheriff Chad Bianco (12%), Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell (11%) and Democratic hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer (10%).

In the same poll, a resounding 30% of likely voters supported other candidates, and 10% still don't know their preferred candidate.

With California's open primary system, the top two vote-getters on June 2 advance to November's general election, regardless of party affiliation, setting up a potential, yet unlikely, doomsday scenario for Democrats if their party were split among several candidates.

A Newsom endorsement could tilt the race, but as he told Wait on Tuesday, he's not ready to "put [his] thumb" on the scale quite yet.

"I don't have an endorsement," he said. "There might be a moment [for that] in the next few months."

The midterm elections

While California's gubernatorial race will capture nationwide attention, it's far from the only thing on voters' and Newsom's minds in a midterm election year. The governor told Wait on Tuesday that he hopes it's "dawning on everybody what we're up against" as President Trump looks to hang on to his congressional support, as much of it goes up for reelection this year.

"[Trump's] not screwing around," Newsom said. "He knows he's going to lose the midterm elections."

Newsom took a victory lap on his Proposition 50 measure, which overwhelmingly passed in California last year and flipped several counties that voted for Mr. Trump in 2024. As a result, the congressional maps for the 2026 elections could add as many as five Democrats to the House of Representatives.

"We fought fire with fire, and we pushed back, and we successfully neutered or neutralized what happened in Texas," Newsom said.

The initiative was first thought of as a rebuttal to efforts made by Mr. Trump and Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott to redraw their congressional maps to add five Republicans to Congress.

Sec. Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security

Newsom's emergence as a national political figure last year came as he battled the Trump administration's deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles with heightened tensions due to public immigration enforcement operations.

Now, similar scenes have unfolded in other cities like Washington, D.C., Chicago and most notably Minneapolis, where two U.S. citizens have been killed at the hands of Department of Homeland Security agents.

"We said [Los Angeles] was a preview of things to come," Newsom said. "That's exactly what we saw [in Minnesota]."

Newsom told Wait that he supported "going after dangerous and violent criminals," but challenged the validity of what the Trump administration was doing with the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers into American cities.

An internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by CBS News last month shows that less than 14% of the nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested by ICE last year were previously charged or convicted of violent offenses.

The governor said he admired the protests staged in Minnesota in the aftermath of Renee Good and Alex Pretti's killings. Last month, the administration pulled more than 1,000 immigration enforcement agents from the state.

"What [the administration] didn't expect is the steel spines of so many Minnesotans that stood up and pushed back," Newsom said. "And now, we're seeing the administration and ICE in retreat."

On Los Angeles wildfire rebuild efforts

Newsom on Tuesday reiterated his commitment to helping victims of the Palisades and Eaton fires rebuild their lost homes, and said he wants to work with the Trump administration on dispersing federal funds, bridging the significant gap between people's construction budgets and insurance.

"We continue to try to find pathways to work with the Trump administration and what I love about the community is their resilience, their willingness to work not just through traditional legislative paths but also directly and reach out to the administration," Newsom said, adding that he spent a significant amount of time with Mr. Trump in the immediate aftermath of the fires.

Many complaints from the victims have centered around the time it takes to have their building permits approved. Newsom said the state has eliminated as many regulations as it can to expedite the process, and urged local governments, which control permitting, to eliminate all fees.

"You gotta waive the [permitting] fees," he said. "Permit fees should be addressed, and I know it's a budget buster for some, but at the end of the day, it's about rebuilding community."

On the 2028 presidential election

At the end of their 10-minute conversation, Wait asked a final question. "Are you running for president?" 

Newsom laughed before reaching out for a handshake.

"I had to ask," Wait said.