Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Why is California Governor Newsom’s campaign buying TV ads on Fox News in Florida?
Move fuels ’24 speculation
Why is the campaign to reelect California Governor Gavin Newsom buying TV ads in Florida?
Newsom’s people aren’t saying, and the ads haven’t aired yet, but political watchers can’t help speculate that the California governor might be positioning himself for a 2024 presidential run, according to SFGate. com.
Or it might be just another round in his ongoing beef with Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
The ads will start airing July 4 on Fox News in Florida, SFGate reported. The airtime cost the Newsom campaign about $105,000, mediumbuying.com tweeted.
“Stay tuned,” Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Newsom’s re-election campaign, told SFGate.com when he was asked about the content of the ads.
“The Governor who said he has ‘subzero interest’ in running for President will reportedly air ads in a state …*checks notes* …2,700 miles away from his own,” tweeted Ashley Zavala, a TV reporter who covers the California Capitol for KRON4 News.
President Joe Biden, who will be 82 in 2024, has faced questions about whether or not he should run for reelection. Some Democrats have also expressed frustration about what they feel is Biden’s passivity and lack of fight, the Washington Post and other media outlets have reported.
For conservatives in Florida, California is often the target of their ire and ridicule because of its apparent liberalism, embodied by the Democrat Newsom. For liberals in California, Florida and the brand of staunch conservatism that the Sunshine State’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis represents is equally loathed.
And the two governors have been lobbing barbs in each other’s direction for a while. DeSantis recently called San Francisco a “dumpster fire.” Newsom has criticized Florida repeatedly and said in February that California would have 40,000 more COVID deaths had the state taken the same approach as DeSantis.
“I do not look for inspiration to that particular governor,” Newsom said.
A common refrain among conservatives on social media and in comments sections is to tell DeSantis critics to move to New York or California. DeSantis’ spokeswoman Christina Pushaw has also sought to underscore the differences between what conservatives say is a repressive California and Florida, which is seen as a bastion of freedom.
DeSantis even recently tried to woo the iconic West Coast fast-food chain In-N-Out to Florida after the chain found itself in a COVID dispute with San Francisco officials. After Disney called out Florida’s so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law, sparking a dispute with DeSantis, the entertainment behemoth announced it would be delaying moving 2,000 jobs from California to Orlando.
On July 4, when Newsom’s TV ads start airing on Fox News in Florida, it’s safe to assume that the war of words between the two governors will continue.