Former San Diego mayor to consider run for governor

Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer (R) will explore a run against California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), he announced on Twitter Monday morning.

Faulconer, 53, left office last month after serving for six years. A relative centrist, he represents the Republican Party’s best chance of electing a governor in a state that has turned increasingly blue over the last decade.

He will face a substantial challenge against Newsom, who won office in 2018 with 62 percent of the vote. California has not elected a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger won reelection in 2006.

Faulconer “is a reformer who has successfully taken on corruption, mismanagement, and out-of-touch politicians before,” the mayor’s exploratory committee said. “As America’s only big city Republican mayor, Kevin has shown what we can achieve when we bring balance to politics and get government back to the basics — and back to serving you.”

Newsom’s first term has been marked by a series of crises, from devastating wildfires to the coronavirus pandemic that is currently hitting California harder than any other place in the world, and the almost constant confrontation with the Trump administration. Still, 60 percent of voters approve of his job performance, according to a recent survey conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California.