Newsom Interferes in Florida Politics, Donates $100,000 to Crist’s Campaign
California Governor Gavin Newsom has continued his feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by donating $100,000 to Charlie Crist’s campaign for Governor.
His donation to Crist’s campaign is a continuation of his attacks against DeSantis.
In July, Newsom released an attack ad against DeSantis, saying that he is taking away Floridians ‘freedom’.
“Don’t let them take your freedom.” California Governor Gavin Newsom trolls Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in biggest way possible, starts running TV ad in Florida only tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/3FvSVwT6QN
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) July 3, 2022
DeSantis responded in kind by saying that a lot of Californians are fleeing Newsom’s state to come to the more free and prosperous state of Florida.
#BREAKING: Gov. Ron DeSantis responds to Newsom ad: "Until the last few years, I rarely if ever saw a California license plate in Florida — now you see a lot of them." pic.twitter.com/50Ok7Sr0MY
— Forbes (@Forbes) July 8, 2022
Newsom explained his decision to spend $100,000 to aid Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, saying, “I like Charlie Crist, and I don’t like bullies. We want to ask what my way is in life. And I don’t like bullies,” Newsom said. “I don’t like people that demean people. I don’t like people that talk down to people. I didn’t like what DeSantis said about Fauci the other day.”
“I’m standing up as a human being to use those dollars. I hope others send money, to send a message that if that’s the future of the damn Republican Party, this country is in real trouble,” he said.
Time to make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor.
I'm pledging $100k right now to @CharlieCrist.
Who will join me in helping Charlie become the next Governor of Florida? https://t.co/YvpkkGKkOb
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 25, 2022
DeSantis once again hit out at the high number of people leaving California for other states like Texas and Florida.
“Yes, we’ve created a citadel of freedom here that has attracted people, and we’re proud of it. But, let’s just be clear, California is driving people away with their terrible governance,” DeSantis added.
Leading political strategist Karl Rove called Newsom’s stunt ‘brilliant,’ saying that it would help position him to run for President in 2024.
Or, perhaps, it was a sign that Gov Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is looking for run for President down the road and is growing his profile in a key large, early primary state… https://t.co/ZcjXaSqOIE
— Politics1.com 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 (@Politics1com) August 25, 2022
“I think it is totally brilliant on the part of Gov. Newsom. Think about this: He has raised $23 million for his re-election campaign. He spent $100,000 on ads in Florida. We’ve just now had more viewers see the ad on this news program than will see the ad in Florida.”
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“He has got himself a great stunt to attract the attention of Democrats and position himself for 2024,” he said.
Rove is not the only person who believes that Newsom will run for President.
Top Democratic donor Joseph Cotchett echoed Rove’s claims, saying there is ‘no question’ that Newsom will make a run for President in 2024.
“There’s absolutely no question in my mind from what I know about him, and I may be wrong, that he will run for president,” Cotchett said.
Both DeSantis and Newsom are in the middle of a re-election bid for Governor, with both likely to win by a comfortable margin.
Rumors have swirled about both running for President in 2024.
California has long been held out as a model for liberal governance while Florida has more recently become a model for conservative governance with DeSantis at the helm.
Additional stories you may want to read:
DeSantis wins big as Special Olympics reverses vaccine mandate
Newsom wastes money on DeSantis attack ad in Florida