Gavin Newsom hobbles his 2028 bid before it launches– www.dailykos.com

A group of ballot measures this fall may end up weighing heavily in the 2028 Democratic presidential primaries.

In June, California Gov. Gavin Newsom came out firmly against Proposition 40, a onetime tax of 5% on the wealth of billionaires living in the state. If the initiative passes, most of its new tax revenue would fund healthcare, yet there are real concerns about a critical tax base fleeing the Golden State. And in announcing his opposition, Newsom simultaneously backed a national tax on billionaires, a ploy to forestall criticism from progressives ahead of his expected bid for the presidency in 2028. That way, at least in his mind, he gets to have his cake and eat the rich too.

That position may have been defensible, but Newsom has now chosen to fully align himself with the billionaire class by endorsing Proposition 42, a competing measure that would nullify the wealth tax and ban the state from passing future taxes like it.

And if the polling proves to be accurate, the Golden State may soon pass both ballot measures … as well as Proposition 41, a second billionaire-backed measure aimed at nixing the wealth tax. This other measure would require new tax proposals to adhere to California’s annual spending limit, but the wealth tax doesn’t do that, meaning it would be automatically nullified.

Regarding the wealth tax, 44.9% of California voters are in favor of it, while 42.8% are opposed, in an average of eight polls conducted since the start of August, as of Friday afternoon.