At first, California Governor Gavin Newsom ran television ads in Florida, and now he's putting ads in Texas newspapers. Gavin Newsom was slammed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the ads in the Sunshine State, so it's not known what he's trying to accomplish in the Lone Star State.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz was quick to comment:
Deadline reports that the “Gavin for Governor” campaign has ads running in three Texas newspapers, including the Austin American-Statesman, the Houston Chronicle along with the El Paso Times, slamming Texas governor Greg Abbott on guns and abortion. I'm betting that a majority of Texans won't be happy with the message. It is important to note this: Donald Trump carried the state 52-46 percent in the presidential election in 2020.
In one commercial, the words Abbott used to sign the Texas anti-abortion law in the past were altered:
“Our creator gave us the right to live. Yet … the children are denied their right to live each year due to abortion. In Texas we strive to save lives.”
In Newsom’s ad, however, “abortion” is crossed out and replaced by “gun violence” and the word “Texas” is crossed out and replaced by “California,” so the quote reads as follows:
“Our creator gave us the right to live. But … kids are denied their right to live each year due to gun violence. In California we strive to save the lives of children.”
It's a bit bizarre that the California governor would boast about gun violence. In 2019, an average of eight people were killed by gunshots every day in the state. Twenty-five percent of those who died were children and young adults younger than 19 years old.
The commercial promotes California's S.B. 1327, a gun law that is similar to the Texas abortion law, in that it permits private citizens to pursue each other. In Texas, citizens are able to sue abortion providers. In California's case, you are able to sue someone for ghost guns. “Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable firearms that can be bought online and assembled at home,” according to Bradyunited.
The only conclusion that one can draw from Newsom's rants against governors from red states is that he is in the process of waiting for Joe Biden to bow out of the presidential race in 2024 and that he is imagining himself as the next president. This would be a stretch considering California is in the grip of high crime as well as a high tax burden and massive homelessness. There's not much to base your campaign on. As Ted Cruz pointed out, California is experiencing a massive exodus of its residents, with many of those shifting to Texas.
Kamala Harris was the darling of California politics. The media loved her, never asking her difficult questions. She was utterly unprepared for the national press or the raunchy life of Washington, D.C. politics She has also made a mockery of herself nearly every time she has appeared before cameras.
If Newsom were elected, I'm betting he would be faced with exactly the same outcome. I think he could enjoy massive popularity in the Golden State, but I'm betting that his record regarding the homeless and taxation, crime and abortion, as well as other things won't do well elsewhere in the country.
