"One of the prerequisites of becoming governor seems to be having already won statewide office," said Tony Quinn, a nonpartisan election handicapper, who noted that California is so large, even the mayors of its biggest cities are a mystery to most voters outside their home region.
Newsom also starts from a political base -- a world-famous liberal bastion -- that is less than ideal for a statewide candidate. "While California is clearly purple to blue in most state races, it's not nearly as blue as San Francisco," Quinn said.
Newsom also has a stain on his past, an admitted affair in late 2005, after the end of his marriage, with the wife of his campaign manager and deputy chief of staff. Newsom apologized for the transgression and said he would seek treatment for alcohol abuse. Voters apparently forgave him; he was reelected last November with 72% of the vote. He is engaged to marry actress Jennifer Siebel later this month.
Despite those hurdles, Newsom could emerge as a serious contender. He can make the case for change against a pair of candidates -- Brown and Garamendi -- each of whom has been on California's political stage for more than 30 years. Newsom can also point to a record of creative initiatives that have turned San Francisco into a sort of policy laboratory of the left.
He is probably best known outside San Francisco for his role as a champion of same-sex marriage. In early 2004, Newsom ordered the city to grant a marriage license to any couple requesting one. The move led to years of legal wrangling that resulted in May's state Supreme Court decision declaring a fundamental "right to marry" in California that extends to couples of the same sex.
Apart from gay rights, Newsom has pushed to make the city a civic leader in environmental policies and healthcare. He started a program to recycle restaurant waste into bio-diesel that will eventually power a fleet of city vehicles, and he hired a global-warming "czar" to find ways for San Francisco to reduce its carbon footprint.
The city is also the first in the country to provide universal access to healthcare for its residents, regardless of their ability to pay. The plan has drawn criticism and a lawsuit from small-business owners -- and the restaurant industry in particular -- for its cost.
Newsom, who is seen as a moderate by San Francisco standards, also earned national attention for his efforts to reduce cash payments to the homeless while increasing the availability of so-called supportive housing, where residents have access to substance-abuse and mental-health counseling.
