Newsom faces a series of setbacks that could complicate a potential 2028 presidential run

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing a series of political and policy challenges that critics argue amount to a string of late-stage setbacks for his administration that could damage his potential 2028 presidential run.

Conservatives recently secured enough support to place a voter ID initiative on the fall ballot in California, which was an outcome that would have been unlikely in the state just a few years ago.

A yes vote on the ballot measure would "require voters to present a government-issued ID for in-person voting or provide the last four digits of a government-issued ID designated during voter registration for mail-in voting," according to Ballotpedia.

"Voters are not required to present a government-issued ID when voting; and voters must attest to their citizenship under penalty of perjury and provide identifying information when registering; election officials are not required to use government data to verify those attestations or to report citizenship verification rates," Ballotpedia also noted.

The development adds to mounting pressure on Newsom as California confronts a significant budget shortfall. 

The budget deficit could land anywhere between $20 billion and $30 billion, according to the latest reports.

At the same time, the state’s high-speed rail project has been scaled back amid escalating costs and delays, fueling criticism about Newsom's fiscal management.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority missed a key deadline of May 1 to "submit a report to the Legislature about the long-delayed project and its estimated cost of $126.2 billion," according to The Center Square.

“The authority now anticipates a revised timeline for adoption of the business plan, with board consideration at its planned June 1, 2026 meeting and transmittal to the legislature on that same day,” a spokesperson with the High-Speed Rail Authority said. 

“This adjustment will allow the authority to better align the business plan with the fiscal year 2026-27 budget cycle. This alignment is particularly important given ongoing project delivery discussions that will help inform the final business plan," the spokesperson added.

Legal uncertainty is also on the horizon after the Supreme Court ruling on Louisiana's maps. 

Experts have said that California's Prop 50 is now in shambles due to the ruling. 

Matt Rexroad, president of the firm Redistricting Insights, said the ruling won't immediately halt the Prop 50 map prior to the 2026 election this November. However, he said it opens the door to the high court blocking the maps in the future. 

“It changes redistricting law substantially and will likely impact most every corner of California,” said Rexford.

“Some of the first lines that came out of the author of the maps, Paul Mitchell, was ‘We’ve created a new VRA district down in in Los Angeles County,'” said Rexroad. “Well, if it’s a VRA district, it wasn’t done for a political gerrymander. It was a racial gerrymander because that is now not allowed.”