What's a Democrat anyway? We asked the governor of America's Democratic party utopia

BROOKLYN, New York — Gavin Newsom is the Democratic governor of the land run by Democrats — California.

The nation’s most populous state is also one of the ones where Republicans have almost no power. They don’t control the legislature, the executive or the judiciary. Recent party registration numbers show that the GOP is actually the third most popular partisan listing option for voters behind Democratic and no party affiliation at all.

In short, this is the world Democrats want. In a year where the national Democratic Party is grappling with what it means to be a Democrat, VICE News asked Newsom to talk about the party and what he thinks comes next.

“I keep saying to Democrats if you want an answer to what we do when we’re back in power. Look out west,” Newsom told VICE News.

When it comes to 2020, Newsom is a supporter of fellow Californian Sen. Kamala Harris’ bid for the presidency. But as supporters of the Democratic socialist movement criticize her record as not lefty enough, Newsom says doesn’t think Democrats could nominate anyone too far left.

This segment originally aired March 21, 2019, on VICE News Tonight on HBO.