Newsom has spent nearly 20% of his second term out of state, analysis shows

Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent nearly one out of every five days in his second term traveling outside California as he builds his national profile ahead of a widely expected presidential run, a Bay Area News Group analysis of scheduling emails sent by his office to reporters shows.

Newsom, who is term-limited early next year, has traveled more than twice as many days out of state in his second term as in his first, the analysis found.

Critics say Newsom's increasingly busy travel schedule reflects a governor focused more on his future political ambitions than on California's day-to-day challenges. A University of California, Berkeleysurvey last year found that 54% of California voters believe Newsom is devoting more attention to things that could benefit himself as a presidential candidate, compared with 26% who said he is paying more attention to leading the state.

"He's excellent when he really focuses on the problems facing the state," said Steven Maviglio, a longtime Democratic Sacramento political consultant. "Unfortunately, his eyes are on a bigger prize, and have been since he was reelected."

The governor's office has defended the travel as essential to advancing California's economic and climate partnerships, saying Newsom remains in constant contact with his team and continues to work while away.

In addition to official state business, Newsom's office said his travel includes family trips and political activity conducted in his personal capacity. His office did not provide the number of days for each type of travel, though the Bay Area News Group compiled estimates based on available records.

In a statement, spokesperson Izzy Gardon pushed back on the idea that the governor's travel is tied to presidential ambitions.

"We understand the narrative you're attempting to draw," Gardon said. "But it's important to recognize the Governor's job is to create jobs and grow California's economy, which often requires travel. And like any parent, he also uses his personal time, on his own dime, to travel with his family."

Travel surged in second term

To determine how often Newsom has left the state, the Bay Area News Group reviewed scheduling emails his office sends each time he departs or returns.

The analysis identified 45 out-of-state trips during Newsom's second term, totaling 229 travel days - nearly 20% of his time in office since January 2023. That comes to an average of roughly two months per year spent traveling outside California.

During his first term from 2019 through 2022, Newsom traveled out of state 25 times, totaling 107 days, about 7% of his time in office. During part of that period, COVID-19 pandemic restrictions limited or discouraged travel. Based on correspondence with his office, Newsom appears to have made 10 personal trips during his first term. He traveled for state business 13 times and made just two political trips, according to the analysis.

The analysis counted as travel days the dates on which Newsom's team emailed reporters to alert them he had departed or returned. The governor's office disputed the inclusion of partial travel days and said some email notifications may have been sent after he returned, potentially inflating the total count. The office did not provide its own estimate.

The office also argued that comparing travel in the two terms is misleading, given pandemic-era restrictions, and that calculating totals for all travel fails to distinguish between state business, personal time and political activity.

Recent trips include high-profile international appearances, such as February's Munich Security Conference in Germany, as well as domestic travel, including a 2025 visit to South Carolina, an early presidential primary state. While promoting his new memoir last month, Newsom visited the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, where he hinted at a potential presidential bid.

Republicans have seized on those trips as evidence that Newsom is no longer focused on the state's most pressing challenges, including the state's high cost of living and a sharp rise in homelessness during his tenure.

"He's clearly not even interested in being governor," Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for governor, said in a February interview with Fox Business.

There does not appear to be a clear historical comparison for Newsom's travel, at least among California governors. Archived schedules of Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Newsom's two most recent predecessors, are not yet public.

But in other states, some governors with White House ambitions have spent even more time on the road. Former New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie, for example, was out of state for more than half of 2014 before launching his presidential campaign, according to news outlet NJ.com. Former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee spent nearly 60% of his time traveling in the first five months after entering the 2020 Democratic primary, according to the Seattle Times.

Gaps in disclosure

The vast majority of the scheduling emails sent by Newsom's office do not indicate where he traveled or why.

To fill in those gaps, Bay Area News Group reviewed press releases, news reports, social media posts, campaign filings and the governor's official calendar obtained through a public records request.

Of the 45 out-of-state trips during Newsom's current term, 19 appear to have been for official state business. Ten appear to be for unofficial political activity, including his visit to South Carolina and the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

The locations of 16 trips - more than 35% - could not be identified. Nearly all were described by the governor's office as personal travel. The office declined to provide reasons for two trips it said were not personal.

Citing security concerns, the office said it generally does not disclose the locations of his personal trips.

Newsom, who has come under scrutiny in the past for declining to disclose information about his travel, is not legally required to reveal the details of his time spent outside California. Even so, voters have reason to expect more transparency, said Dan Schnur, a political science professor at UC Berkeley and the University of Southern California.

"Newsom himself would benefit from explaining to voters why he is making these traveling decisions," Schnur said. "The fact that they haven't heard that explanation leaves a predictable reaction."

Who pays?

According to the governor's office, Newsom's official domestic travel is typically paid for by the state, while international trips, as well as personal and political travel, are not funded with public money. The office declined to estimate how much his travel has cost taxpayers.

International travel is often paid for by the California State Protocol Foundation, a nonprofit run by allies of the sitting governor and funded through private donations. Government watchdog groups have criticized the arrangement, arguing it creates an avenue for corporate influence.

The foundation spent $21,585 on Newsom's trip to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Brazil last year, according to a disclosure filing.

Political travel is generally funded through Newsom's campaign accounts, which are not tied to a potential presidential bid. State filings show roughly 50 payments for airfare, lodging and meals labeled as candidate travel.

That includes a $4,039 payment in November 2025 for lodging and meals at Montage Big Sky, a luxury resort in Montana, where Newsom's in-laws have owned a ranch, and a $2,482 payment to Morton's Steakhouse in Houston for a staff dinner that included the governor.

Newsom's campaign did not respond to multiple inquiries.

As his final term comes to a close, political experts said it's unlikely Newsom's travel would become a serious liability in a presidential race - that is, as long as there's not a major wildfire or other disaster while he's out of state.

"Ask any chief executive, a mayor, a governor or even a president who is going to travel," Schnur said. "The risk they run is that something really bad happens while they're gone."

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