Report: Gavin Newsom’s PAC Spent $1.5 Million to Buy Copies of His Book, Accounting for Two Thirds of Its Sales

California Governor Gavin Newsom is a bestselling author – elevated to that lofty literary status in part by a book giveaway to anyone who donated to his political action committee (PAC).

That is the conclusion of the New York Times, which reported roughly 67,000 Newsom PAC donors received the memoir by the governor – who is also seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate – accounting for a whopping two-thirds of its total print sales.

The book giveaway was generated by the governor tapping his “formidable email list of supporters” as the Times described it.

The book was hailed as an “instant best seller” when it debuted in late February, making those lists in Amazon, USA Today, the Times — perceived as a good sign for Newsom’s chances in a presidential run.

However, Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery didn’t achieve that status by traditional means, according to the Times.

In November, Newsom reportedly wrote to those on his email list, “Make a contribution of ANY AMOUNT today and I will send you a copy.”

“It turned out about 67,000 supporters did just that,” the Times wrote, constituting a lion’s share of the 97,000 books sold.

The newspaper also reported that the California governor’s political action committee paid $1,561,875 to Porchlight Book Company to buy and distribute those copies to the donors.

Nathan Click, a spokesman for Newsom, told the newspaper that the governor’s PAC, the Campaign for Democracy Committee, netted more in contributions than the cost of the 67,000 copies.

“We were thrilled with the response,” Click told the Times. “Our goal was to deepen the relationship between him and the millions of folks who have already expressed support for Governor Newsom’s work. And as it turns out, the tactic more than paid for itself.”

He added that Newsom does not receive royalties for books sold through the program.

Political committees often use books as a bonus for donations. The Republican National Committee spent $100,000 for a book by Donald Trump, Jr. in 2019.

Another potential 2028 presidential candidate did a book giveaway representing nearly $100,000 in sales — far less than  Newsom’s $1.5 million book buy.

According to the Times:

One other federal committee made a payment to Porchlight this year: Fight for the People PAC, the main political group for former Vice President Kamala Harris, who released her own memoir in 2026. She paid the publishing house $97,524 in January.

Harris’s book 107 Days was already a best seller when she gave her supporters a free book if they made a donation of any size, the Times reported.

Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.