Speaking on the “All The Smoke” podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, California Gov. Gavin Newsom put “woke” politics and ballot access at the center of the conversation. “All this anti-woke stuff is just anti-Black. Period. Full stop,” he said, warning that efforts to censor history and stop equity work are part of a broader rollback. “They’re literally putting America in reverse to a pre 1960s world,” he said, pointing to fights over what can be taught and who gets to vote.

Newsom tied the “anti-woke” drumbeat to a campaign to erase reality in classrooms and media. “They’re rewriting history, censoring historical facts,” he said. He argued that diversity, equity, and inclusion are being caricatured to justify purges. “CRT, ESG, DEI, that’s all this is. It’s this great purge and it’s happening in real time.” For him, telling the truth about the past is a living protection for the franchise now. “Protecting honest history and protecting the vote are the same fight,” he said.

He also pressed the stakes around access to the ballot, citing looming legal and legislative threats. “You’ve got the Supreme Court talking about getting rid of the Voting Rights Act. That’s very real,” he said. He argued that when leaders try to narrow participation, it signals a weakness of ideas, not strength. As co-host Jackson put it, “Anytime you want to make it harder to vote, that means you can’t stand and win with your policy.” Newsom agreed, adding, “We’re not doing enough. We’re not drawing a line here.”

Newsom went on to describe hardball power plays around maps and representation. He recounted “an unprecedented” episode in which a president “picked up the phone and told a sitting governor that you need to redistrict to get me five seats.” The takeaway, he said, is clear: “If the only way you can win is to rig it, you change the rules.”

Beyond warning lights, he pushed a plan. Newsom is organizing around Proposition 50, which is a direct response to a mid-decade redistricting plan in Texas that was designed to flip five Democratic-held seats. “We’re going to fight fire with fire,” he said. “It’s about power at the end of the day and holding the line.”

The governor acknowledged that messaging matters, especially to younger men across communities who feel priced out and unheard. “We got our ass kicked in the last election,” he admitted, stressing a need to “show up where people are” and speak plainly about costs, opportunity, and power. That includes his recent pivot to direct communication. “We have got to get on the offense,” he said. “Put a mirror up. Call it out.”

Watch the full interview below: