“Most politicians operate best when they have somebody or something to contrast against, and there’s no bigger contrast to Gavin Newsom and California right now than Florida and Ron DeSantis,” said Jim Ross, a Democratic consultant who ran Newsom’s first mayoral campaign.
Republicans’ response to Newsom is simple: Bring it on. They say they would love a chance to highlight California’s homelessness crisis, shrinking population and other factors that make it a regular GOP punching bag.
“Egotistical Gavin Newsom is desperate for relevance and attention,” said Christian Ziegler, vice chair of the Republican Party of Florida and a Sarasota County commissioner. “This ad will have zero impact on anything going on in Florida — both in terms of policy and politics. And the only one losing sleep over this ad won’t be Ron DeSantis, but instead Joe Biden will lose midday nap time over this as it clearly shows that Newsom is positioning himself to take on the Democratic president.”
Anthony Pedicini, a GOP campaign consultant in Florida, quipped that “you don’t see many people from Florida leaving to move to California. Newsom should focus on fixing California and leave Florida to the guy that got it right — Ron DeSantis.”
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