No. Gavin Newsom cannot run for governor of California again. He is finishing his second term, which is the maximum the state constitution allows, and California’s cap is a lifetime ban rather than a pause between runs. His current term ends on January 6, 2027, and no constitutional path lets him seek the office a third time.
What the California Constitution Says
Article V, Section 2 of the California Constitution is one sentence long on this point: “No Governor may serve more than 2 terms.”1Justia Law. California Constitution Article V – Executive – Section 2 Each term runs four years, so eight years is the ceiling. Voters put the rule in place in November 1990 by approving Proposition 140.2Ballotpedia. California Proposition 140, Term Limits, Legislature Retirement Benefits, and Legislative Operating Costs Initiative (1990)
The lifetime piece is what makes California unusual. In many states, a governor who reaches the term cap can sit out a cycle and run again. California does not allow that. Once you have served two terms, you are permanently ineligible for the office. Opponents of Proposition 140 raised exactly this objection during the 1990 campaign, and voters approved it anyway.2Ballotpedia. California Proposition 140, Term Limits, Legislature Retirement Benefits, and Legislative Operating Costs Initiative (1990)
Newsom Has Already Served Two Terms
Newsom won his first gubernatorial election in November 2018, defeating Republican John Cox with about 62 percent of the vote, and took office on January 7, 2019. He won re-election in November 2022 against state Senator Brian Dahle with roughly 59 percent.3Ballotpedia. Gavin Newsom That second term ends on January 6, 2027. Two terms, elected outright, both counted in full toward the cap.
The 2021 Recall Did Not Reset the Clock
A common question is whether the 2021 recall election changed his eligibility. It did not. A recall is not a new term of office. Newsom survived the recall and kept serving the same term he began in 2019. Had he been removed, the lieutenant governor would have finished that term and Newsom’s single completed term would have left him eligible to run in the future. Because he stayed in office and then won again in 2022, the arithmetic is straightforward.
What Newsom Can Run For Instead
The two-term limit only blocks Newsom from the governor’s office. It does not touch federal positions, and it does not carry over to other California offices he has never held.
President or U.S. Senate
Qualifications for President and members of Congress are set by the U.S. Constitution, and states cannot add their own. The Supreme Court held in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton that those federal qualifications are “fixed and exclusive.”4Law.Cornell.Edu. U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 (1995) The only presidential cap is the Twenty-Second Amendment’s two-term rule, which applies to presidential service specifically.5Congress.gov | Library of Congress. Twenty-Second Amendment Newsom has publicly said he is considering a 2028 presidential campaign and plans to decide after the 2026 midterms. A U.S. Senate run would also be legally open to him.
Other Statewide Offices
Proposition 140’s two-term rule runs separately for each statewide constitutional office. Lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, controller, and treasurer each have their own independent two-term clock. Newsom has not held any of them as governor’s clock counts only against governor, so he could run for any of those positions.
Could the Term Limit Be Changed?
Because Proposition 140 came from a voter initiative, only another ballot measure can change it. The legislature cannot amend or repeal it on its own. A proposal would need to qualify through signature gathering and then win a majority at the polls. No recent measure has targeted the gubernatorial limit.
Even if voters approved a change, it would apply going forward. Whether it could retroactively restore eligibility for someone who has already served two terms would depend on the exact language of the new measure.