Video from a North Carolina rally showed a largely empty room as Newsom finished speaking.
California Governor Gavin Newsom traveled to Monroe, North Carolina on Saturday, September 5, as part of a multistate campaign swing through the South. He spoke at the Union County Agricultural and Event Complex during a Labor Day weekend event organized by state and local Democrats. The tour was billed as an effort to build momentum for Democratic candidates ahead of the 2026 midterms.
When cameras panned to the audience near the end of his speech, the visible portion of the venue appeared sparsely filled. No independently verified attendance count was available, and the footage did not capture the full room. Still, the images drew attention online given the scale of the venue and Newsom’s national profile.
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As originally reported, Newsom’s Monroe stop was part of his “Take It Back” tour through Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina. He also campaigned in Charlotte, joining volunteers canvassing for Democratic Senate candidate Roy Cooper and Mecklenburg County Democrats.
Newsom closed his Monroe remarks by predicting a Democratic takeover of the House. “I want to come back here to North Carolina in a year when Speaker Jeffries is successfully elected as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives,” he told the crowd. “Thank you guys very much.”
He also pushed back against Democrats fixating on the 2028 presidential race, a contest in which he is widely considered a potential candidate. “My entire life I’ve seen the expansion of rights. Now it’s rights regression. This is it. Don’t focus on 2028,” Newsom said. He called it his party’s “biggest mistake” to shift attention toward the next presidential election while cable television chatter moved in that direction.
Newsom directed sharp criticism at President Donald Trump, accusing him of attempting a “cultural purge” and trying to nationalize elections. He focused part of his remarks on Republican-backed changes to mail-in ballot procedures. “Donald Trump is ruthless,” he said. “This election is it.”
Republicans were ready for him. A spokesman for GOP Senate candidate Michael Whatley accused Cooper and Newsom of trying to import California’s “progressive agenda” into North Carolina. Monroe Mayor Robert Burns also took a swing, noting that Newsom had traveled roughly 3,000 miles to campaign in his city. Burns told the governor directly, “You and your party should be worried.”
Newsom shared the stage with North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton, Judges Toby Hampson and Christine Walczyk, and North Carolina AFL-CIO President Braxton Winston. He urged Democrats to pursue state and local races more aggressively, calling on his party to “fight fire with fire.”
The Monroe rally wrapped up what was a busy Southern campaign circuit for a governor whose next political move is being watched closely by both parties.
