Newsom Ends Bid for California Governor

Oct. 31, 2009 -- Maybe he was foreshadowing things to come. Maybe he truly hadn't decided whether he wanted to continue to run. Or maybe he's a good actor.

If San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom knew earlier in the week that he would be dropping his bid to be elected governor of California, he never let on.

ABC News spent the entire day last Monday with Mayor Newsom from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., a day that included a staff meeting, a visit to the projects, a press conference on the H1N1 vaccine and a quick stop at home to see his newborn baby, before running to a campaign event and lingering to answer every question.

During the entire day, Newsom spoke repeatedly about his desire to be governor, however long the odds.

"We need to do more," Newsom conceded but said he thought he could eventually raise enough money to stay competitive.

"The history of primaries is very fluid. It doesn't bother me at all," he said in an interview Monday. "We'll catch up."

Four days later, late Friday, he announced he would throw in the towel.

Though Newsom was the only fully declared Democrat in the race, former governor and Attorney General of California Jerry Brown clearly wanted the job too. At last count, Brown had seven times the money Newsom had. And in a recent Field Poll, Brown was leading Newsom statewide by 20 points.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cannot run for re-election because of term limits, but there are several Republican candidates in the field. Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay; Steve Poizner, the state insurance commissioner; and former Congressman Tom Campbell have launched campaigns. Whitman and Poizner are both independently wealthy.

Perhaps it isn't surprising then that Newsom decided the hurdles were too great. But Newsom aides say they truly had no idea it was coming.

One senior aide says Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel, only made the decision to drop out on Friday.

"The mayor took a look at what he needs to do in terms of raising money, etc., and looked at his family life and being there and didn't want to do it."