Tipsheet

Gavin Newsom Published a Book, and Guess Where the Majority of Its Sales Came From

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  April 17, 2026 8:00 AM

Outgoing California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote a book. If that's news to you, you're probably not alone. The memoir, titled 'Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery,' was released on February 24. It's only sold 97,000 copies through mid-April, and now we're learning that a majority of those sales came from a $1.5 purchase made by Newsom's on PAC.

Here's more from The New York Post:

“We were thrilled with the response,” spokesman Nathan Click told the NY Times. “Our goal was to deepen the relationship between him and the millions of folks who have already expressed support for Governor Newsom’s work. And as it turns out, the tactic more than paid for itself.”

According to data from Circana BookScan, the governor’s memoir has sold over 97,000 print copies since its release. Of those, the nearly 70,000 distributed through the PAC promotion made up a significant majority.

”It’s a good book. Very personal. Not your normal political book at all,” Newsom wrote in one Jan. 31 email hawking free copies of the memoir in exchange for donations.

Earlier this year, Newsom’s team touted strong sales, claiming more than 91,000 copies had been purchased through “organic, in-person and online, non-bulk purchases,” helping propel the book onto bestseller lists shortly after launch.

The fundraising push began in November, when Newsom emailed supporters urging them to donate after California voters approved Proposition 50, a redistricting measure he backed that could help Democrats gain up to five additional House seats.

Newsom somehow believes he's so wildly popular he's a shoo-in for the presidency. He can't even sell his book.

That's what he does best.

Well played.

Newsom isn't the first Democrat who did this, by the way.

The grift is real.

It's hilarious that Newsom's book is as bad as 'Battlefield Earth.'

"It's a campaign finance loophole dressed up as a book deal. you take donor money, route it through a publisher, and pocket the royalty spread. completely legal. happens on both sides constantly. but 69% of your own sales coming from your own PAC is unusually brazen math," the post reads.

Yes. What he did was perfectly legal, but it's also revealing. It shows his campaign isn't as organic and popular as Democrats want us to believe.