Sad State

No One Wants to Be California's Governor

Newsom withdrawal empties Democratic field.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to withdraw from the governor's race in California has left the state's Democratic voters with slim options. Sure, there's a competitive race in the GOP field, but for the 7 million declared Democrats in the liberal state, the most attractive candidate is Attorney General Jerry Brown, and he hasn't even declared his candidacy yet. Why are there so few Democrats eager to run for the position? "It's a thankless job right now," one strategist told the Los Angeles Times. "It's not just making California into whatever your vision is. It's really trying to just hang on in a horrible economic situation where all your choices are terrible choices."