Newsom starting political organization to oppose GOP leaders
Jack Birle
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Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is launching a new organization, the Campaign for Democracy, to combat Republican leaders in other states by targeting their policies.
In a video posted to Twitter on Friday, Newsom called “authoritarian leaders” the greatest threat to the country. He claimed they are “so hell-bent on gaining power” that they are “directly attacking our freedoms in state after state.”
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“We’re going on the road to take the fight to states where freedom is most under attack, where Republican leaders ban books, criminalize doctors, fire teachers, intimidate librarians, kidnap migrants, target trans kids, stoke racism, condone antisemitism, force the victims of rape and incest to carry their attacker’s baby, where they ignore the will of the people and they make it harder to vote and easier to buy assault weapons,” Newsom said.
During the video, Newsom showed several GOP leaders, including Govs. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Greg Abbott (R-TX), Tate Reeves (R-MS), and Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR). It also showed former President Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
“We’re going to these states and investing in people and organizations where they’re fighting back. We know we have a big battle coming, which is why we’ll help lead the fight to make sure we elect leaders in 2024 who believe in democracy,” Newsom said as images of him alongside President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris appeared in the video.
On the website of the Campaign for Democracy, DeSantis, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Abbott are listed as the “threats.”
The organization calls DeSantis “a cowardly bully who has gained political power by scapegoating minorities.” It said he “is leading the GOP charge to revoke rights and destroy hard-won American freedoms.”
It accuses McCarthy of being someone who “shamefully sold out our democracy to hold on to even the slightest grip of power in Washington.” And it claims Abbott “is waging a full-scale assault on personal freedoms and rights in Texas.”
Newsom has been a vocal opponent of DeSantis, who is seen as a likely Republican presidential contender for 2024.
In July 2022, Newsom ran advertisements in Florida denouncing DeSantis and calling on Floridians to move to the Golden State, dubbing it the state “where we still believe in freedom.”
In September 2022, Newsom sent a letter to the Justice Department demanding they prosecute Florida and Texas over transporting immigrants to liberal areas, including New York City and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. DeSantis quipped in response that Newsom’s “hair gel was interfering with his brain function.”
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The new political organization will likely lead to murmurs on whether the California governor will sit out of the 2024 presidential race. Newsom recently went on a “policy tour” in lieu of a State of the State address, and the term-limited governor is now vowing to “take the fight” to other states. The placement of images of Biden and Harris while he discusses 2024, however, would suggest he is still backing the current Democratic ticket for reelection.
Newsom may be eyeing 2024 or 2028, but a poll from Quinnipiac University earlier this month found 70% of Californians do not want Newsom to run for president, with 24% saying they would like to see him run.