California Governor Gavin Newsom has found the most stereotypically political way to celebrate July 4th this year…by running attack ads against Republicans in other states.
The Governor announced his new ad campaign on Twitter, where he called on his supporters outside of California to fight back against Republican leadership nationwide, especially Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
The new video opens with Newsom announcing Independence Day before declaring, “Freedom is under attack in your state.”
He then goes on to describe a situation where conservatives are banning books (a reference to anti-racist kids books), restricting speech in schools (a reference to Florida’s law preventing teachers from discussing sexuality and gender before 4th grade), and criminalizing both doctors and women (a reference to Florida moving to ban abortion following the SCOTUS ruling on Roe v Wade). All the while images of Governor DeSantis float across the screen.
At that point the California Governor pivots his message to call on liberals to do one of 2 things: either fight back or move to California to protect their “freedoms”.
“I urge all of you living in Florida to join the fight – or join us in California, where we still believe in freedom: Freedom of speech, freedom to choose, freedom from hate, and the freedom to love. Don’t let them take your freedom.”
Despite the new ad campaign being paid for by the Newsom for California – Governor 2022 campaign, it’s clearly not intended to pick up in-state voters. Both Newsom and DeSantis have been making moves for potential Presidential runs in 2024. Both have already positioned themselves as leaders amongst their respective parties and both have massive war chests built for future campaigns.
“He’s running for president,” Newsom told CNN last week. “I care about people. I don’t like people being treated as less of them. I don’t like people being told they’re not worthy. I don’t like people being used as political pawns. This is not just about him, but he is the poster child of it.”
Despite Newsom’s new spending spree in the middle of DeSantis’s reelection campaign, the Florida Governor didn’t seem too upset over the ads. His campaign spokesman David Abrams said, “Gavin Newsom might as well light a pile of cash on fire. Pass the popcorn for his desperate attempt to win back the California refugees who fled the hellhole he created in his state to come to Florida.”
Both Newsom and DeSantis are technically running for reelection right now but both seem like virtual shoe-ins in their respective states. The two Governors made a name for themselves with their polar opposite handlings of the pandemic, with California locking down and Florida remaining open. What do you think the chances are that we will see Newsom vs DeSantis in the 2024 general election? Who would win?
