Published August 13, 2025
California Governor Gavin Newsom and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz are likely candidates for president in 2028. Each has adopted a different approach to the leftist cultural extremism we call woke. Let’s explore that contrast as it pertains to the issue of ethnic studies, a close cousin of critical race theory and a kind of ultimate exemplar of woke. The crusade to mandate ethnic studies radicalism in all K–12 classes has advanced further in California and Minnesota than in any other state. A Newsom/Walz comparison, then, should tell us something important about the direction of the Democrats and the fate of woke in the culture at large.
In brief, Newsom is running away from woke, while Walz is running toward it. That said, each has attempted, in his own way, to insulate himself from the charge of leftist radicalism. Ethnic studies embodies the reigning extremism of the Democrats’ base, so much so that it can neither be safely embraced nor entirely disavowed by Democratic aspirants for national office.
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Stanley Kurtz is a senior fellow in the Education and American Ideals Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. For over a decade, he has been a national leader in the reform of both K-12 and higher education, authoring or co-authoring model legislation designed to protect campus free speech, reintroduce the study of Western civilization, restore the reading of classic literature, prevent high school walkouts for purposes of political protest, block mandatory DEI indoctrination, bring public policy debate back to college campuses, and more. He writes regularly on education issues for a wide range of outlets, particularly National Review Online, where he has been a contributing editor for over two decades.
