• What Happened: Federal filings reveal Gavin Newsom's PAC, the Campaign for Democracy Committee, spent $1,561,875 to purchase 67,000 copies of his own memoir "Young Man in a Hurry" and distribute them to donors. Of the 97,400 total copies sold, about two-thirds came from his own PAC's bulk purchase. The PAC listed it as the single largest expenditure of Q1 2026.
  • Why It Matters: Newsom's team put out a March press release boasting about book sales with a state-by-state map of "organic" purchases, without disclosing that two-thirds of the copies were bulk bought by his own PAC with donor money. His spokesman admitted the strategy "more than paid for itself" because donors gave more than the $1.56M spent.
  • Bottom Line: Newsom used his donors' money to buy his own book, inflated his bestseller numbers, put out a press release bragging about "organic" sales, then used those fake numbers to beg for more donations. That is the whole scheme.

Gavin Newsom has a bestselling memoir. It is called "Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery." It has sold more than 97,000 copies. He put out a press release in March with a map showing state-by-state sales across America, celebrating the book's success as a product of widespread public enthusiasm.

There was just one thing missing from that press release. Two-thirds of those copies were purchased by his own political action committee using his donors' money.

Federal Election Commission filings released Wednesday, first reported by the New York Times, show that Newsom's Campaign for Democracy Committee spent $1,561,875 to purchase and distribute 67,000 copies of "Young Man in a Hurry" through Porchlight Book Company. The expenditure was listed as "books at cost." It was the single largest expense of his PAC in the first quarter of 2026.

The scheme began in November, months before the book's February release. Newsom sent fundraising emails to supporters offering a free copy of the upcoming memoir to anyone who donated any amount to his PAC. "Make a contribution of ANY AMOUNT today and I will send you a copy," the email read. In another email he told donors the state had "spent a bunch of money on passing Prop 50" and that he needed to "refill the coffers" for upcoming fights including redistricting efforts. Send us money, get a book. The book is being bought with your money.

According to Circana BookScan, the memoir has sold 97,400 total print copies. Approximately 67,000 of those, roughly two-thirds, came from Newsom's own PAC bulk purchase. Organic sales in the traditional sense account for the remaining third.

Newsom's spokesman Nathan Click told the New York Times the campaign was "thrilled with the response." He acknowledged that donors who took advantage of the book offer ended up donating more than the $1.56 million the PAC spent to buy and ship the books, meaning the PAC netted money on the transaction. "As it turns out, the tactic more than paid for itself," Click said.

Let that sentence sit for a moment. The PAC used donor dollars to buy the governor's book. The governor used the inflated sales numbers to look like a bestselling author with national appeal. The fake bestseller status helped attract more donations than the books cost. The scheme paid for itself. Everyone involved is "thrilled."

In March, Newsom's team did not mention any of this when they put out a press release hailing the book's success. The release included a map showing sales "by location across the country," describing them as "organic, in-person and online, non-bulk purchases." At the time they claimed 91,000 copies had been sold. They did not mention that the overwhelming majority of those copies had been purchased by the governor's own PAC and mailed to people who donated as little as one dollar.

Newsom's team will note that other politicians have done similar things. They are not wrong. The RNC spent nearly $100,000 on copies of Donald Trump Jr.'s book in 2019. A Kamala Harris PAC spent $97,524 on copies of her memoir "107 Days." Those are real comparisons worth making. They are also roughly one-fifteenth the scale of what Newsom did, and neither involved a subsequent press release claiming the sales were "organic."

Gavin Newsom wants to be president. Step one is apparently becoming a bestselling author. Step two is apparently making sure you define "bestselling" very carefully.