Election results 2022 California - CBS News projects Gavin Newsom has been re-elected to a second term

Democratic incumbent Gavin Newsom was an overwhelming favorite to win a second term leading the nation's most populous state, a platform that could propel him to a presidential run.

Newsom hardly campaigned, instead using some of the tens of millions of dollars in his campaign account to pay for ads in other states on gun control, abortion rights and other issues as part of his attempt to reshape the national Democratic Party's message.

For his main opponent, Republican Brian  Dahle, there was little political risk in running for governor because he did not have to give up his seat, which covers the state's sparsely populated northwest corner. But he struggled to get donations in a year when Republican donors are more focused on California's competitive U.S. House races, which will help determine which party controls Congress.

Dahle raised less than a million dollars, making it impossible for him to mount an effective statewide campaign to introduce himself to voters. He's had to rely on social media and traditional media coverage. He spent the final weeks of the campaign driving a semi truck around the state with a large campaign banner.

Newsom says his priorities for the next four years include a plan to "address the vexing issues of extremes."

"Extreme drought, extreme weather, extreme polarization in our body politic as it relates to preserving and protecting democracy," Newsom said. "The rights revolution has been rolled back in real time in so many red states, all of those things are very consequential. And this state has more to lose, more to gain, than any other state in the country."