Bill Clinton backs Gavin Newsom for California State Governor
- LGBT Issues Examiner Eric Ross, 9/16/09
Gavin Newsom has been trailing in the polls for governor recently, but that may change really soon since he was just endorsed by former president Bill Clinton. Clinton chose to back San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for California governor over state Attorney General Jerry Brown. Even though it’s still early in the race, Clinton’s endorsement is huge.
“In 1992, Bill Clinton beat Jerry Brown in California by 7 points,” said Art Torres, a former state lawmaker who headed the California Democratic Party for 14 years. “He then beat Bush by 13 points in the general, and then in last year’s presidential campaign, Hillary [Clinton] beat Obama by 9 points including a 67-to-32 margin among Latinos.”
Clinton also carried 43 of the state’s 58 counties when he ran against Brown in 1992. “California is still Clinton country in many ways,” said state Sen. Alex Padilla and chairman of Newsom’s campaign. “We are proud supporters of Barack Obama, but we have not forgotten what the Clintons did for California.”
Newsom and Clinton will participate in two events together in Los Angeles on October 5, the Newsom for California campaign announced yesterday. Details for the events are still in development and will be released in the forthcoming days; however one is expected to be a public event in East L.A. and the other is expected to be a fundraiser in Los Angeles.
What does this alliance mean for the LGBT community? Well, Newsom strongly believes in LGBT equality and made national headlines in 2004 when he directed the San Francisco city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples even though same-sex marriages were not legal in California. Clinton also supports LGBT rights and yesterday, he endorsed the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and allow same-sex couples to be recognized by the Federal government. Could this new and public alliance help Newsom win the election? Could it increase the odds of repealing Proposition 8 in 2010, and ultimately restore marriage equality in California? What are your thoughts readers? Leave your comments below.
