Michael Tubbs, the 33-year-old wunderkind whose national profile pioneering universal basic income drew praise from Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey, is returning to political life just as the Democratic Party is undergoing an existential crisis over the age of its leader.
But Tubbs is solidly in Camp Biden.
“It’s more important than ever for our party to rally around Joe Biden as our declared nominee,” Tubbs said, calling former President Donald Trump and his vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance , “MAGA Large,” and the “MAGA on steroids ticket.”
The former mayor of the struggling Central Valley city of Stockton spoke to POLITICO ahead of the planned launch of his campaign for California lieutenant governor on Wednesday, injecting youthful swagger into the far-off contest.
Tubbs’ policy platform to become the Golden State’s No. 2 official in January 2027 aligns with some major priorities Biden is now spotlighting to a core Democratic constituency of minority and working class voters: helping renters and young home buyers, expanding education and social programs, addressing climate change and protecting jobs from artificial intelligence without stifling the burgeoning industry.
Tubbs’ youth and focus on generational change — he appeared in two documentaries before the age of 30 — comes at a tumultuous time for Democrats, with elected officials and activists torn over whether Biden has the mental and physical stamina to continue on in the presidential race. Several California politicians are advocating for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the nominee.
The former mayor, a longtime ally of Harris who backed Mike Bloomberg’s presidential run after she dropped out of the primary in 2019, stressed that he’s solidly behind the Biden-Harris ticket. Trump’s naming of Vance to the ticket on the first day of the Republican National Convention reinforced that position, Tubbs said.
In an interview ahead of his announcement, Tubbs described himself as a “caretaker of the future” — pledging to use the “bully platform” to advocate for expanding access to higher education, increasing housing affordability and bolstering environmental protections. He wants to work closely with lawmakers to sponsor legislation and said he’s been troubled by what he calls “90s lock ‘em up rhetoric” and fear-driven campaigning to toughen criminal sentences.
“I need to get back in the game because we need to get back to our better angels,” Tubbs said, after describing a long process he went through before deciding to launch the comeback bid.
California is deep in a changing of the guard after decades of logjam, a shift that began in earnest with the departure of Sen. Barbara Boxer in 2016. That continued with Jerry Brown leaving the governor’s office in 2018 because of term limits. The late Sen. Dianne Feinstein passed away last year. Rep. Adam Schiff is expected to rise to the Senate next year, joining Sen. Alex Padilla . A sprawling field of contenders is already lining up to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2026.
Tubbs emerged from childhood poverty to build a national political network and win the support of influential figures like Obama and Winfrey — becoming his hometown’s first Black mayor and one of the country’s youngest.
But he lost his reelection in 2020, a sudden and dramatic setback. He went on to serve as Newsom’s special adviser for economic mobility and opportunity and worked on poverty, universal basic income and baby bonds as a nonprofit director and social impact investor.
The lieutenant governor in California — an independently elected position — is largely viewed as a waystation for ambitious candidates plotting runs for governor. But Tubbs contended it could be much more, pointing to Newsom as an example of a lieutenant governor who made change by campaigning for several ballot measures: from legalizing marijuana to regulating ammunition to rolling back penalties for some offenders.
POLITICO first reported in April on Tubbs’ interest in seeking the statewide role.
“I’m incredibly excited at the ability to even run for California lieutenant governor,” Tubbs said, describing the unlikely path of a kid from Stockton, a city that’s struggled with crime and was the largest municipality to go bankrupt, to now having the chance to become the second-highest ranking official in a state with the world’s fifth-largest economy. “Some people may not think it’s a big job. But to me, it’s a really big job.”
Tubbs was hopeful that he’ll be working alongside a second-term President Biden if he wins his statewide race.
Tubbs said he was encouraged by Biden’s recent speech in Detroit, where he outlined a first 100-day agenda for 2025 focused on restoring reproductive rights, expanding health care, voting rights, raising the minimum wage, zeroing out medical debt and passing union protections. He said Biden’s new rent caps proposal to bring down the cost of housing, formally unveiled Tuesday in Las Vegas, was another positive move. And Tubbs contrasted that with the lengthy wishlist conservative think tank leaders are hoping Trump will adopt, including an overhaul of government and civil service positions.
Tubbs was more circumspect about his Democratic opponents, a 2026 field that includes state Treasurer Fiona Ma and state Sen. Steven Bradford. Asked directly about his competition, Tubbs asked, “who?” letting the call fall silent for a moment.
He described himself as deeply rooted in struggle and argued he brings “something different” — and that he’s someone “who hasn’t been in Sacramento for decades.” Ma is 58 and Bradford is 64. Both spent years in the Legislature and other offices.
On the need for change at the top, Tubbs said many of his friends have struggled with the high cost of living, forcing some to relocate outside California because they can’t afford a home. He said the race for him boils down to an opportunity to represent the state and to solve the chasm between “results and rhetoric.”
Tubbs has not chosen or endorsed a candidate for governor to succeed Newsom in 2028, saying there are several talented and accomplished Democrats running. “It’s almost an embarrassment of riches to choose from,” he said.
In the 2024 cycle, Tubbs said he opposes the tough-on-crime measure pushed by many outspoken district attorneys and some mayors. He argued that while public concerns over safety are rooted in legitimate fear, the measure is undergirded by a “very sophisticated narrative strategy by the right wing and other forces who want us to get back to locking people up.”
That measure, he said, won’t solve problems around smash-and-grab thefts perpetrated by organized retail crime rings, nor will it address the major dealers who are pushing fentanyl.
“Part of it is explaining to people there’s no magic bullet,” he said, urging sustained focus on the “positive progress that these reforms are making.”
Tubbs said most of his own conversations with Newsom have focused on his work on economic mobility, though he said he’s asked the governor about his day-to-day work in his former job.
“I hope to earn his support.”
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