Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has made it no secret that he wants to run for president. And he doesn’t have much to base his presidential bid around except his management (or mismanagement) of the state. Unless he wants to go back and cite his tenure running San Francisco.

So what does California looks like post-Newsom? Apart from crime, homelessness, affordability and a thousand other problems, let’s just look at the state’s post-Newsom deficits.

California faces an estimated $3 billion shortfall in the upcoming budget year, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Friday.

Those are the numbers from Newsom’s office. What are the real numbers?

The estimate from the Newsom administration is much lower than the $18 billion shortfall for the 2026-27 budget year projected by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, which develops budget estimates for the California Legislature.

And even Newsom admits that what’s coming will be even worse.

But the Newsom administration still projects the budget deficit will grow significantly in the next budget year to $22 billion.

All of this is just hypothetical. Newsom and the legislature have dramatically different estimates of revenues, but both are spending insane amounts of money.

Newsom’s proposed 2026-27 budget will total $349 billion with a $248 billion general fund

California’s 2019 budget was $215 billion. That was Newsom’s first year in office. Its 2011 budget was $98 billion. In 15 years, California’s budget has more than tripled. Spending has increased by $135 billion since Newsom took office.

That’s what Newsom did in one state. Imagine that nationwide.