Exclusive: Newsom shows fundraising muscle for state parties

Gavin Newsom is quietly banking a lot of goodwill among party organizers and elected officials in states — particularly in the South — that will be key in the midterms and the 2028 Democratic presidential primary.

• Newsom has raised more than $1.7 million for critical state parties and their legislative committees so far this two-year cycle, according to data reviewed by Axios.

Why it matters: State party leaders told Axios that the California governor has raised more for them than any other prominent Democrat and potential White House rival.

• Newsom's ability to raise the money almost entirely through his email list shows that he could be a formidable grassroots fundraiser in a White House run.

Driving the news: Newsom raised the most for the Democratic Party in South Carolina, which is expected to host the first contest in the 2028 primary.

• Jay Parmley, executive director of the state party, confirmed that Newsom raised over $300,000 for the state party from grassroots fundraising.
• "He's raised the most. [New Jersey Sen.] Cory Booker has pitched in, and there are others," he said, also mentioning Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. "But Newsom's is a bigger amount," Parmley told Axios.
• "He rose to the occasion when we were all facing redistricting challenges," he said. "It's allowed us to increase our staffing and it came at really crucial times for us when we were recruiting candidates to run for the state legislature."

Raymond Buckley, chair of the party in New Hampshire, praised Newsom for his "phenomenal fundraising assistance."

• Newsom raised over $220,000 for the party and over $56,000 for the New Hampshire Senate Democratic Caucus this cycle.

Molly Forgey, senior adviser for the Nevada Democratic Party, said that "Newsom's fundraising emails have raised more for the Nevada state party than anyone else."

• Forgey noted that other potential 2028 candidates have raised significant money for ballot initiatives and other Nevada campaigns.

By the numbers: Newsom raised money for 14 state parties from more than 74,000 donors.

• Besides South Carolina and New Hampshire, the states were New Jersey ($158,063) Michigan ($154,000), Nevada ($117,455), North Carolina ($121,971), Louisiana ($113,615), Florida ($99,808), Tennessee ($95,259), Alabama ($94,865), Virginia ($77,831), Minnesota ($63,836), Georgia ($43,843) and Texas ($30,351).

Like many other potential 2028 candidates, Newsom also raised money for Democrats in key 2026 races such as Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff; former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who's running for Georgia governor, and former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola, who's running for Senate.

• Newsom's Campaign for Democracy group and its affiliated committees had over $14 million cash on hand at the end of June, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Zoom out: Other Democrats eyeing a presidential run also have given cash to state parties and the national Democratic Party apparatus.

• Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently donated $5,000 to each state party through his outside group Win the Era.
• Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has for years donated millions of his personal billions to progressive ballot initiatives and candidates, including this cycle.
• Kelly raised $400,000 for Ossoff and to help other Democrats in key races, the New York Times reported.

Zoom in: Since Newsom faced a recall election in 2021, he and his team have been steadily building an online small-dollar fundraising apparatus.

• Key architects of Newsom's fundraising machine are Sydney Hibbs and Tim Tagaris, who was instrumental in building Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' small-dollar fundraising operation in the 2020 presidential campaign, when Sanders didn't hold any traditional high-dollar fundraisers and yet out-raised most of his opponents.

State party leaders have been impressed by the amount of money a single email from Newsom's team can raise.

• "His email list is platinum," said South Carolina's Parmley. "We're an early [primary] state but I have watched him from afar, raising money all across the country. There's no one in politics raising money like Gavin Newsom."