California Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a Golden State ground attack in Florida on Monday, releasing an ad urging Sunshine State residents fed up with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to pack their flip-flops and head west.
Newsom bought $105,000 worth of spots that began airing on Fox News in Florida, spurring chatter about a potential 2024 presidential run — especially if Joe Biden opts not to seek a second term.
The ads also cranked up the temperature on the nation’s fiercest gubernatorial rivalry.
While the 30-second spot doesn’t mention DeSantis by name, Newsom takes aim at several of the Florida conservative’s signature legislative accomplishments.
“It’s Independence Day,” Newsom tells the camera while clad in a white dress shirt and standing in a lushly landscaped backyard. “So let’s talk about what’s going on in America.”
The ad then cuts to an ominously distorted image of DeSantis — himself a potential 2024 White House contender — and former President Donald Trump.
“Freedom is under attack in your state,” Newsom says. “Republican leaders — they are banning books. Making it harder to vote. Restricting speech in classrooms. Even criminalizing women and doctors.”
The California governor was referring to Florida’s ban on critical race theory in classrooms, prohibition of instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity for kids in kindergarten through the fourth grade and the state’s 15-week abortion ban.
Over an image of a pristine California beach, Newsom encourages Floridians to help him combat the GOP — and even consider moving to his state.
“I urge all of you living in Florida to join the fight,” Newsom states. “Or join us in California where we still believe in freedom.”
DeSantis’ aides wasted little time in returning fire.
Florida Department of Health spokesman Jeremy Redfern tweeted out a squalid quartet of pictures showing various California homeless encampments and a trash-strewn beach.
“Shouldn’t you be worried about California?” he wrote.
DeSantis’s reelection campaign also mocked Newsom’s attempted relocation drive.
“Gavin Newsom might as well light a pile of cash on fire,” said campaign spokesman Dave Abrams in a statement. “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.”
Newsom has intensified his attacks on DeSantis and the GOP in recent months, positioning himself as a culture war field general.
“I do not look for inspiration from that particular governor,” Newsom said of his Florida counterpart in March while belittling his outspoken manner as theater.
DeSantis has been equally vigorous in denouncing Newsom and his stewardship of California.
“Yes, there’s a lot of Californians who like what we’re doing who are coming, but even the ones that posture against Florida typically find their way here,” DeSantis said on Fox News in March.
Both men face gubernatorial re-election votes in November and have dismissed speculation about their presidential aspirations.
California’s Department of Finance reported in May that the state’s population shrank by 117,552 in 2021 following a larger decline by 182,083 in 2020. Meanwhile, census data shows that Florida’s population grew by 211,000 between July 2020 and July 2021.