{"id":1990570,"date":"2023-08-04T05:03:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T09:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pac-spending-shows-how-gavin-newsom-is-positioning-himself-for-a-presidential-bid\/"},"modified":"2023-08-04T05:06:29","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T09:06:29","slug":"pac-spending-shows-how-gavin-newsom-is-positioning-himself-for-a-presidential-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pac-spending-shows-how-gavin-newsom-is-positioning-himself-for-a-presidential-bid\/","title":{"rendered":"PAC spending reveals Newsom&#8217;s presidential ambitions."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpac-spending-shows-how-gavin-newsom-is-positioning-himself-for-a-presidential-bid%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1990570&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<h2>California Governor Gavin \u2064Newsom&#8217;s Ambitious Political \u200dMoves<\/h2>\n<p>In March, California governor \u2063Gavin Newsom launched a PAC with the aim of challenging &#8220;authoritarian leaders&#8221; in\u2064 red states and advocating for a constitutional \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-reportedly-planning-an-executive-order-on-firearms-right-out-of-the-gate-but-his-big-bold-changes-wont-stop-there\/\" title=\"Biden Reportedly Planning an Executive Order on Firearms Right Out of the Gate, But His \u2018Big, Bold Changes\u2019 Won\u2019t Stop There\">gun control<\/a> amendment. In\u2064 a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GavinNewsom\/status\/1641533969534697473\">launch video<\/a>, \u200cNewsom expressed his\u200b intention to invest in\u2063 people and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-cnn-the-super-bowl-does-not-need-more-politics-it-needs-none\/\" title=\"No, CNN, The Super Bowl Does Not Need MORE Politics; It Needs None\">organizations fighting<\/a> against these strongmen in these states.<\/p>\n<p>However, the PAC&#8217;s \u2062spending\u200b patterns tell a different story.<\/p>\n<p>Since its inception,\u2062 Newsom&#8217;s Campaign for Democracy PAC has raised $3.8 million, according to FEC records. Surprisingly, very \u2064little of \u2064that money has been used to support political groups fighting against politicians like Florida governor Ron DeSantis or to push \u2064for \u200ba <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-legislature-introduces-first-in-nation-resolution-to-protect-against-democrat-court-packing\/\" title=\"Arizona Legislature Introduces First-In-Nation Resolution To Protect Against Democrat 'Court Packing'\">constitutional amendment<\/a> \u2064on\u2064 gun control. Instead, Newsom has spent millions on Democratic strategists, nationwide ad campaigns, and photo-op visits to red states, all aimed at enhancing his image and political profile.<\/p>\n<p>Political\u200c observers believe that Newsom&#8217;s spending spree is indicative of his ambitions to run for president \u200cif President Joe Biden\u2063 chooses not to seek reelection.\u200b &#8220;It&#8217;s\u2062 obvious that his &#8216;Campaign for Democracy&#8217; is really just a &#8216;Campaign \u2064for Gavin Newsom,'&#8221; said Michael Ahrens, former communications director for the Republican National \u2064Committee. &#8220;This is the kind of operation you set \u2062up \u200bwhen \u2062you want\u2063 to run for president, and he would absolutely jump in the race if the opportunity presented\u2062 itself.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Campaign for Democracy has allocated <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00836320\/1720010\/sb\/ALL\">$2.12 million<\/a> to Aisle 518 Strategies, a \u2064progressive firm that has also worked with\u200b former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders and failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate\u200b Stacey Abrams. Additionally, around \u200c$181,000 has been spent on the Democratic advertising firm that Newsom used during his gubernatorial campaign, \u2064and approximately $60,000 has gone towards fundraising events and consulting. Meanwhile, Newsom has spent about $42,000 on visits to red\u200c states with his family and staff, and has made direct contributions of just under $11,000 to \u200dred-state Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>These\u2062 national fundraising and spending figures come at a\u2062 time when President Biden&#8217;s approval ratings have hit an all-time low of 35 percent,\u2062 and some Democrats are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pac-spending-shows-how-gavin-newsom-is-positioning-himself-for-a-presidential-bid\/\" title=\"PAC spending reveals Newsom's presidential ambitions.\">quietly discussing potential \u200breplacements<\/a>, despite publicly presenting a united front, as reported by CNN in July. According to a\u200c recent CNN poll, 75 percent of Democratic voters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/07\/26\/politics\/cnn-poll-biden-2024\/index.html\">do not want<\/a> Biden to run again. As\u2064 Newsom is term-limited \u200cas governor of California, he has transferred <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00836338\/1720014\/sa\/ALL\">$11.6 million<\/a> from\u200d his gubernatorial campaign to the Campaign for Democracy. In another effort to position himself as a \u2062viable alternative to \u2064Biden and boost his profile, Newsom has \u200bchallenged DeSantis to a\u200c debate \u2064moderated by Sean Hannity on Fox \u200bNews, scheduled for November.<\/p>\n<p>Initially, \u2062the Campaign for Democracy ran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ads\/library\/?active_status=all&#038;ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&#038;country=US&#038;q=Campaign%20for%20Democracy&#038;sort_data[direction]=desc&#038;sort_data[mode]=relevancy_monthly_grouped&#038;search_type=keyword_unordered&#038;media_type=all\">social media ads<\/a> pitting Newsom against DeSantis and former President Donald Trump, who were the leading contenders in the\u2063 Republican primary.\u2062 These ads \u200cwere posted on Newsom&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-poll-kristi-noem-crushing-john-thune-in-south-dakota-would-begin-senate-challenge-with-huge-lead\/\" title=\"Exclusive \u2014 Poll: Kristi Noem Crushing John Thune in South Dakota, Would Begin Senate Challenge with Huge Lead\">gubernatorial campaign account<\/a>\u200c on Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, the campaign ads have criticized Republicans, called for grassroots support\u200b for a\u200c gun \u200bcontrol \u2064amendment, and\u200d highlighted Newsom&#8217;s appearance on Fox News with conservative host Sean Hannity in June.<\/p>\n<p>Newsom has \u200dspent over <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00836320\/1720010\/sb\/ALL\">$40,000<\/a> on plane tickets and hotels for whirlwind tours of red states, including Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas. \u2063During these visits, \u2064he has posted <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GavinNewsom\/status\/1643328253342412806\">photos<\/a> from civil rights sites\u200c and \u2063criticized conservative policies. In April, he even sat down for an \u2063MSNBC interview with Biden&#8217;s former White House press\u200c secretary Jen\u2064 Psaki in Alabama.<\/p>\n<p>The records of the\u2064 PAC show that Newsom \u2063has also made\u2064 contributions of $10,000 to <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00836320\/1720010\/sb\/ALL\">Arkansas Democrats<\/a> and $744 to <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00836320\/1720010\/sb\/ALL\">Colin Allred<\/a>, the Democratic\u2062 challenger to Texas Republican senator Ted Cruz.<\/p>\n<p>According to Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the\u200d conservative Hoover Institution, the campaign&#8217;s setup seems more focused on grabbing headlines and boosting Newsom&#8217;s national image rather than actually\u2063 helping Democrats in red states or achieving the stated mission of passing a constitutional amendment. &#8220;It&#8217;s one thing to say you want to get involved in red state politics, and then a whole other thing to go\u2064 to the red state and put the resources in to try to make a\u2063 difference,&#8221; Whalen\u200d said. &#8220;By doing these symbolic gestures\u2062 like going to red states to talk about civil rights and\u200d gun control, it gives him the appearance \u200dof Daniel in the Lion&#8217;s Den even though he&#8217;s not going anywhere near the lions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California governor Gavin Newsom launched a PAC in March to challenge red-state &#8220;authoritarian leaders&#8221; and establish a gun control amendment. Newsom expressed his intention to support individuals and organizations fighting against these strongmen in their respective states. The PAC&#8217;s expenditures are significant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1604,"featured_media":1990571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1990570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1990570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1604"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1990570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1990570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1990571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1990570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1990570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1990570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}