Newsom: Democrats Should Be ‘Worried’ About Third-Party Candidates

Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Democrats should be worried about third-party candidates in the 2024 election.

Partial transcript as follows:

JON KARL: How worried are you about a third party? There will be multiple third party candidates. So, it doesn’t take a lot. I know a third party candidate isn’t likely to be elected president, or beat either one. But I mean, how worried are you —

NEWSOM: Spoilers.

KARL: Yeah, how worried are you about that?

NEWSOM: I have to be, I’m worried. But you know what? You’ve got to control the controllables. Got to control what you have to control. Right now, it’s getting the vote out.

KARL: Do you think it’s a mistake then for Democrats to try to keep these third party candidates, No Labels, and the others off the ballot? We’re seeing an effort —

NEWSOM: I —

KARL: — to —

NEWSOM: Yeah, I think when you — again, when you try to suppress choice and voice, it tends to backfire.

KARL: Especially when you’re talking about the importance of democracy, you try to keep people off the ballot.

NEWSOM: Yeah. So, I don’t get consumed by that. And I’m not here on behalf of the Biden administration thinking about that. I’m a simple guy, and —

KARL: But —

NEWSOM: But what I mean by that is I look at — for example, let’s look at No Labels. I took the time. I encouraged people to talk — look up what are they for? And I thought, wow, this literally reads as the accomplishment list of the Biden/Harris administration. So, I — they’re a solution in search of problem I respectfully submit.

KARL: You — you’ve taken on this fight with some of the red state governors, obviously, Ron DeSantis.

NEWSOM: I appreciate you noticing.

KARL: And you said you did it because you didn’t Democrats were fighting hard enough. Does that include the Biden administration? Biden —

NEWSOM: It was a year, it was a year and a half ago, and I don’t feel that way anymore. Absolutely not.

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