Newsom and California will deliver the delegates to put Harris over the top

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose relationship with Vice President Kamala Harris goes back to their days as young officials in San Francisco, will speak from the convention floor on Tuesday, where he’ll deliver the delegates to ceremonially put her over the top for the Democratic nomination. The moment, which was carefully choreographed by Harris’ presidential campaign, is designed to promote the Golden State and Democrats’ unity behind Harris while serving as an emotional highlight for two politicians whose parallel trajectory and sibling rivalry has been the subject of decades of chatter and intrigue.

The fork in the road for Harris and Newson came in 2016, when she launched her Senate run to succeed Barbara Boxer and he entered the governor’s race to follow Jerry Brown two years later. Both were early to endorse the others’ climb up the ladder of state and national politics. Along the way, many of the same California-based strategists formed their campaign brain trusts, and their respective careers were elevated by former San Francisco Mayor and powerful state legislative leader Speaker Willie Brown.

In 2018, Harris backed Newsom for governor, predicting that he would “lead with courage.” Added Newsom at the time: “It is an amazing journey Kamala and I have been on as friends.”

Three years later, she made a six-hour special trip from Washington to rally supporters in Oakland, helping him beat back a GOP-led recall attempt.

Newsom’s role in the convention was not clear until POLITICO reported it on Monday. He’d served as a top surrogate for President Joe Biden and Harris, raising millions of dollars, blitzing the country and battleground states on behalf of the ticket and even engaging in a highly unorthodox debate on Fox News opposite Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Newsom has said he would continue to campaign for Harris. He endorsed her on the afternoon Biden dropped out of the race, saying she was best positioned to go up against former President Donald Trump. He called her “Tough. Fearless. Tenacious.”

“With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump's dark vision,” Newsom said in a statement posted on X.