Newsom escalates fight against red states with new PAC

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is expanding his offensive against national Republican figures by channeling $10 million into a new political organization that will wade into red states through the 2024 cycle.

In a glossy launch video featuring images of longtime GOP nemeses like former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Newsom said his newly launched “Campaign for Democracy” committee would organize and spend money in “states where freedom is most under attack."

“The problem in our country right now: authoritarian leaders who are so hell-bent on gaining power and keeping it by whatever means necessary that they’re directly attacking our freedoms in state after state,” Newsom said. “We’re going to these states and investing in people and organizing where they’re fighting back.”

The campaign escalates Newsom’s foray into national politics ahead of a potential future presidential run. The Democratic governor has relentlessly attacked Republican governors as he seeks to contrast California’s progressive agenda with that of red states that are curtailing abortion rights, expanding access to guns, and limiting transgender healthcare.

Newsom had already paid for billboards and television advertisements in other states. But those outlays were pittances compared to the new multimillion-dollar effort. The more ambitious phase underscores Newsom’s desire to project influence far beyond California’s borders.

He can focus on other states in part because he has faced minimal political pushback on his own. Newsom had $16 million in the bank after cruising through a 2022 re-election campaign that saw him crush a token Republican challenger.

Newsom has consistently repudiated suggestions he is eyeing the White House and pledged his loyalty to President Joe Biden. The video released Thursday features images of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as Newsom pledges to “lead the fight to make sure we elect leaders in 2024 who believe in democracy.”

But a national campaign will likely boost Newsom’s broader visibility while forging the types of ties that could help lay the groundwork for a future presidential push. He is termed out of the governor’s office at the end of 2026.