Hollywood billionaire is first Dem megadonor to throw weight behind Gavin Newsom for 2028 White House run
Gavin Newsom hasn’t launched his rumored White House bid, but already has one deep-pocketed Hollywood billionaire fully in his corner.
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings is all in on Newsom for president in 2028 — gushing over the publicity-loving California governor as a Democrat who can unify the flailing party and beat a Republican successor to President Donald Trump.
“Gavin is the candidate who can motivate both the left and the center,” Hastings told the LA Times.
Reed Hastings is a self-described “big fan” of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Invision for The Television Academy
The comments come as Newsom not-so-subtly lays the groundwork for a presidential bid — raising millions through a national committee, Campaign for Democracy, and hogging the spotlight on a coast-to-coast book tour through Democratic primary states.
But he may be competing with a fellow California Dem heavyweight — Kamala Harris, who leading early polls for 2028.
A YouGov survey conducted last month shows 25% of Democrats supporting Harris in a hypothetical primary, followed by Newsom at 12% and Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Pete Buttigieg, both at 9%.
Kamala Harris has been shafted by top donors after her doomed 2024 presidential bid. AP
Donors have reportedly turned their backs on Harris, who said she is considering launching a third bid for the White House.
“There is an enormous appetite for new blood — something fresh, something that really represents the future, not the past,” one anonymous fundraiser told the LA Times.
Gavin Newsom is not-so-subltly laying track for a 2028 presidential bid. REUTERS
Hastings, a Dem megadonor, previously backed Harris’ failed presidential bid with a $1 million donation to a pro-Harris PAC, Future Forward, but said he preferred her fellow California pol, Newsom, as a presidential nominee.
Hastings is one of Newsom’s most reliable donors, kicking in $2 million to his Prop. 50 redistricting campaign.
He called himself a “big fan of Gavin Newsom” last year, praising him as “a gifted political strategist and a futurist” to Politico.
