"It's Independence Day," Newsom announced in the ad, posted to his Twitter. "So let's talk about what's going on in America. Freedom is under attack in your state."
"Republican leaders," he went on, are "banning books, making it harder to vote, restricting speech in classrooms, even criminalizing women and doctors. I urge all of you living in Florida, to join the fight — or join us in California."
Newsom's choice of Florida as a focal point for cultural debate may not be an arbitrary one, as speculation looms that the Democratic governor is seeking a presidential run in 2024. According to the New York Post, Newsom spent $105,000 for ad spots on Fox News in Florida to position himself as an option to popular Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican.
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"Stay tuned," Newsom's spokesman Nathan Click explained to the SF Gate before the airing.
Around the time of Click's comment, Ashley Zavala, who covers the California Capitol for Nexstar Media Group, pointed out that Newsom, "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."
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The ad comes amid a clash of critiques Newsom waged against DeSantis on matters from COVID-19 policies to critical race theory in schools. Though despite it all, the Florida governor, meanwhile, has delighted in the exodus of disaffected Californians bolting for Florida.
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"Yes," DeSantis explained to Fox, "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's press secretary, Christina Pushaw, referenced the ad buy, tweeting, "Californians... aren't you glad you pay 60% of your income in taxes to bankroll fun projects like this?"
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Newsom did an interview with The Atlantic earlier this month to talk about the national Democratic Party and conservative legislation on abortion and LGBT rights, and in that interview, called for the national Democratic party to be more aggressive. That interview came only a few weeks after he made national headlines for publicly calling out the national party throughout a news conference.
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Furthermore, some of Newsom's recent California policy decisions have been made directly in response to matters gaining attention nationally. On Friday, after the United State Supreme Court's choice to overturn Roe v. Wade, Newsom signed a bill that protects people traveling from states with abortion limitations to California to get the procedure. He further garnered a lot of attention last year for introducing a bill that enables private citizens to sue gun manufacturers. That bill is intentionally modeled after a Texas abortion law.
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