Newsom Pledges $100,000 To Defeat DeSantis In Florida

Tom Tapp

25 August 2022 at 5:59 pm·2-min read

“Time to make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote today of the Florida leader. Newsom proposed to do so by donating $100,000 to DeSantis’ opponent in the November midterm, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla).

Newsom posted the statement on Twitter along with a link to an ActBlue fundraising page and the prompt, “Who will join me in helping Charlie become the next Governor of Florida?”

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Time to make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor.
I'm pledging $100k right now to @CharlieCrist.
Who will join me in helping Charlie become the next Governor of Florida? https://t.co/YvpkkGKkOb
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 25, 2022

Among those responding was Crist himself, who shared his own tweet in the comments: “Great to have you on Team Crist, @GavinNewsom! I’ve said it all along, DeSantis isn’t just a Florida problem. He wants to be president and force his radical right-wing views on the country.”

Great to have you on Team Crist, @GavinNewsom!
I've said it all along, DeSantis isn’t just a Florida problem. He wants to be president and force his radical right-wing views on the country.
When we beat him this November, that show is OVER. Join us today:https://t.co/Bgss6lGA0E
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) August 25, 2022

It’s the latest in a series of moves by the California governor that reach far beyond his own state, including prohibiting government-funded travel to states that have anti-LGBTQ legislation, running ads in Florida and Texas even joining Donald Trump’s Truth Social.

The buzzy actions have not only raised the ambitious Newsom’s national profile, they have prompted wide speculation that he wants to run for president in 2024. If he did so, it currently looks like his main opponent would be DeSantis.

The Florida governor shot back at Newsom in July saying, “When families are uprooting from the Pacific Coast to go almost 3,000 miles in search of a better life, that’s telling you something.”

“Yes, we’ve created a citadel of freedom here that has attracted people, and we’re proud of it. But, let’s just be clear, California is driving people away with their terrible governance,” he added.

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