California Gov Hopefuls Throw Newsom Under The Bus After He Skips A City Where Kids Were Shot
Several California Democratic gubernatorial candidates called out Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday night for failing to personally visit Stockton after a mass shooting killed three children and an adult.
A massacre broke out at a children’s birthday party Saturday night in Stockton, killing two 8-year-old girls, a 14-year-old boy and a 21-year-old man, and injuring others. Despite the tragedy and media attention, Newsom did not visit the scene.
Asked by KCRA Political Director Ashley Zavala about the governor’s decision, three Democratic gubernatorial candidates and one Republican criticized Newsom’s absence.
“I believe the governor should have gone to Stockton. I exchanged messages with the mayor of Stockton and she told me how horrible it was for her community and the fear of retaliation and what it was going to mean for her and her community. And this is an area in the Central Valley that already feels like their flyover country,” Democratic candidate Ian Calderon said.
“Nobody cares about us. You’re hovering over us. You only come here when you’re campaigning. They can’t continue to feel like this. And they need to know that they can have a relationship with the governor and the state when something tragic like this happens,” Calderon added.
Democratic candidate Antonio Villaraigosa also responded to Zavala’s question, saying he “showed up” during his tenure as Los Angeles mayor from 2005 to 2013. (RELATED: Multiple Mass Shooters Took Psychiatric Medication. RFK Wants Answers.)
“I’ll tell you what I did when I was mayor. I always showed up. I showed up when a cop was getting shot. I showed up when families were losing loved ones,” Villaraigosa said. “Actually, when I was on council, I attended every homicide in the two years I was on council in my district. When I was mayor, there were too many, but we brought it down to 1950 levels, like I said. But I think it’s important to be present. And I’m not criticizing anyone. I don’t know where he was at. But I could tell you for myself, show up.”
Law enforcement responds to the scene of a shooting on November 30, 2025 in Stockton, California. (Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)
A third Democratic candidate, Betty Yee, stressed the importance of showing support for a community that has “lost loved ones and community members” and starting a conversation about why the incident happened. When Zavala asked Yee if she would have visited the venue if she had been governor, Yee immediately said yes.
Newsom’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Riverside County Sheriff and Republican gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco also criticized the governor, questioning why Newsom has not called for an end to the violence or demanded accountability.
“Why isn’t the head of state saying this absolutely has to stop and the perpetrators will be held accountable? As governor of California, I would absolutely make sure I’m there. I would make sure I’m there for the families and we’ll do everything we can to make California the safest state in the country,” Bianco said.
“This selfishness of our elected officials who only do things that benefit them, and sometimes they don’t have the ability to sacrifice or sacrifice their own ambitions, their vacations or the political speech that they were going to give in another part of the country, because a community in California was suffering, that speaks volumes,” Bianco added.
According to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, authorities received reports of a shooting shortly before 6 p.m. and confirmation that 14 people had been struck by gunfire and four had died. On Tuesday, they were Journey Rose, 8, Maya Lupian, 8, Amari Peterson, 14, and Susano Archuleta, 21, with the total number of injured standing at 17, according to CBS News.
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