Democratic governors are signaling their willingness to defy the new Trump administration, vowing to protect freedoms in their states and to wage legal and political battle if the president-elect follows through with controversial proposals.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the Golden State is “ready to fight” and called a special section of the state Legislature after Trump’s win.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) promised that if “you come for my people, you come through me.”
In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey (D) pledged her state’s law enforcement will not assist the Trump administration if it goes through with mass deportation plans.
The messages, some of which come from possible 2028 contenders, harken back to the first Trump term, when big Democratic states repeatedly sparred with the White House. They also suggest a long campaign as ambitious Democrats tout their willingness to take on Trump at home and across the country.
Another four years of Trump in power are likely to see Democrats “resisting in every way possible, to throw sand in the gears at every opportunity,” said Jesse Rhodes, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “And with Congress likely controlled by Republicans, that’s going to fall on the shoulders of Democratic governors,” he said.
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Trump defeated Vice President Harris on Tuesday, sweeping the swing states and making inroads in blue areas, as well as expanding upon his 2020 margin in some red strongholds. Republicans took control of the Senate and the party looks on track to win a slim majority in the House, which would mean a trifecta of GOP control in Washington.
Governor races notably followed the status quo, with both parties holding onto control of their seats that were up for grabs Tuesday.
Democratic governors had rallied around Harris’s fast-tracked presidential bid.
Newsom and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) were both among the names floated as potential running mates, and she ultimately went with another Democratic governor, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D).
Leaders of the critical swing states in the “blue wall” — Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) — joined Harris on the campaign trail.
Now, top blue-state leaders are gearing up for the transfer of power, readying a push back against a second Trump term.
In Trump’s first four years in office, Democratic governors mounted some of his toughest opposition as they sparred over his ban of travelers from Muslim countries, and his responses to the pandemic and widespread 2020 protests.
“When you elect a president of one party, often, states of the party that oppose that president have enormous ability to try to block or push back on directions that the president might want to go, especially if Congress can’t function or pass legislation,” said Barry Rabe, a public policy professor at the University of Michigan’s Ford School and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Democratic-led states, along with their state attorneys general, are already shaping up to be a “major point of opposition” for the GOP as Trump touts sweeping Day-One plans for immigration, energy and foreign policy, Rabe said.
“Perhaps this time may be different. But if it isn’t, Illinois will remain a place of stability and competent governance,” Pritzker said of Trump’s win this week.
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Healey defiantly told MSNBC Massachusetts would “absolutely not” assist the future Trump administration in its promise to address immigration with mass deportations.
“I think that the key here is that every tool in the toolbox is going to be used to protect our citizens, to protect our residents and protect our states, and certainly to hold the line on democracy and the rule of law as a basic principle,” she said.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D), also asked about the possibility of mass deportations, pledged in a press conference that “if it’s contrary to our values, we will fight to the death.”
“Winning the White House and the Senate and perhaps the House … it’s a little self-serving, but it’s true: governors have never mattered more,” Murphy said.
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has convened a team of experts to develop strategies for protecting her state from policy threats they think could emerge under Trump. The task force will address reproductive rights, civil rights, immigration, gun safety and the environment, according to a release that labeled those areas the “most likely to face threats from a Trump administration.” She’s partnering up with New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought a lawsuit against Trump in 2022.
Washington state’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) — who won his gubernatorial bid on Tuesday — told reporters after the results that his office feels “prepared to defend” the state’s freedoms as the White House changes hands. Ferguson will govern the only state in the country that saw a shift toward the Democratic presidential candidate, compared to 2020.
“We knew from our extensive experience during [Trump’s] first term that we would need to be prepared from Day 1 if he was elected,” Ferguson said.
In California, Newsom issued a proclamation asserting that the consequences of a Trump presidency for California “may be significant and immediate” as he called for a special legislative session to protect progressive policies.
His office told The Associated Press he and state lawmakers are ready to “Trump-proof” California laws.
“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle,” Newsom said.
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Trump fired back at Newsom in a seething Truth Social post that Newsom “is trying to KILL” California and “using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done.”
The dynamics between blue-state governors and the incoming president will make for “a huge battle” in the coming years, Rhodes predicted. “And I think it’s likely that California will be ground zero for that battle.”
For one, the Golden State is a liberal bastion that has become a GOP target over issues like crime and immigration. Another factor is the enduring sense among political observers that Newsom has national ambitions. He emerged as a prominent Biden surrogate and top attack dog for the party this cycle, and was floated alongside Harris as a possible Biden replacement.
Newsom is one of several governors — along with Whitmer, Shapiro, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) and others — who have been speculated as possible 2028 contenders.
Strategists on both sides of the aisle agreed that resisting Trump could help give rising-star governors a head start for the next cycle.
But Republican strategist Ford O’Connell argued the governors are “trying to use Trump as a foil” so they can “jockey for power,” and contended Trump resistance won’t get much mileage with voters come 2028, when Trump isn’t eligible to run again.
Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf sounded alarms that the president-elect could seek to crack down on the states whose leaders oppose him.
“This is a dangerous game for the governors to play,” he said, adding that Republicans’ potential trifecta “increases the odds of punishment.”
But it also “increases the importance of what the governors are doing,” Sheinkopf said.
Meghan Meehan-Draper, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, said in a postelection statement that Democratic governors are “the last line of defense for our rights and values.”
“As we brace for the potential for the same lawlessness and extremism that Donald Trump repeatedly promised to bring to the White House again, Americans can look to Democratic governors to continue standing up for fundamental freedoms and our democracy,” she said.
