Newsom creates political organization to oppose GOP policies in red states

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has launched an organization to oppose GOP policies in strongly Republican states to push back against policies that those states have implemented. 

Newsom said in a video he tweeted on Thursday that he is creating a group called Campaign for Democracy to oppose “authoritarian leaders” who are “directly attacking our freedoms in state after state.” 

The video shows clips of Republican politicians like former President Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders as Newsom speaks. 

“We’re going on the road to take the fight to states where freedom is most under attack,” Newsom said. 

He said the organization will invest in “people and organizations where they’re fighting back.” He said the country is facing an “existential battle” for “who we are and who we’re willing to become.” 

“Extremist Republicans are systematically attacking the very foundations of our free society — denying women equality, attacking communities of color, fetishizing weapons of war, banning books, restricting speech, and undermining the right to vote,” Newsom tweeted. 

The group’s creation is Newsom’s latest venture in battling against Republican leaders who have advocated for certain controversial policies. 

Newsom sparred with DeSantis after the Florida governor had dozens of migrants flown on chartered flights from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., last year. He challenged DeSantis to a debate over the issue in the aftermath. 

Newsom also launched a billboard campaign in September in seven Republican-led states with strict abortion laws in place to advertise California’s laws protecting abortion rights. 

He has been the subject of rumors about potential White House ambitions in the future as he has increasingly taken on a national profile. He said amid 2024 election rumors that he would not run for the presidency next year, even if President Biden were to decide not to run for reelection.