{"id":1990610,"date":"2023-08-04T06:29:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T10:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pac-spending-shows-how-gavin-newsom-is-positioning-himself-for-a-presidential-bid-2\/"},"modified":"2023-08-04T06:30:13","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T10:30:13","slug":"pac-spending-shows-how-gavin-newsom-is-positioning-himself-for-a-presidential-bid-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pac-spending-shows-how-gavin-newsom-is-positioning-himself-for-a-presidential-bid-2\/","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=\"&quot;\"><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-2%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=1990610&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 Newsom&#8217;s Ambitious \u2064Political Moves<\/h2>\n<p>In March, California \u200cgovernor Gavin Newsom launched a PAC with the aim of challenging &#8220;authoritarian leaders&#8221; in red states and advocating for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pac-spending-shows-how-gavin-newsom-is-positioning-himself-for-a-presidential-bid-2\/\" title=\"PAC spending reveals Newsom's presidential ambitions.\">constitutional gun control amendment<\/a>. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GavinNewsom\/status\/1641533969534697473\">launch video<\/a>, Newsom expressed his intention to invest in people and\u2062 organizations fighting against these strongmen in these states.<\/p>\n<p>However, the PAC&#8217;s spending patterns tell a different story.<\/p>\n<p>Since its \u200binception, Newsom&#8217;s Campaign for Democracy PAC has raised $3.8 million, according to FEC records. Surprisingly, very little of that money has been used to <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.\">support political groups fighting<\/a> against politicians like Florida governor Ron DeSantis or to \u2062push for a constitutional \u200camendment on gun \u200bcontrol. Instead, Newsom has spent millions on Democratic strategists, nationwide ad\u200b campaigns, and photo-op visits to red states, all aimed at enhancing his image and political profile.<\/p>\n<p>Political \u2063observers believe that Newsom&#8217;s spending spree is indicative of\u200d his ambitions to run for\u2064 president if President Joe Biden chooses not to seek reelection. &#8220;It&#8217;s \u200cobvious that his \u2064&#8217;Campaign for\u2064 Democracy&#8217; is really just a &#8216;Campaign for Gavin Newsom,'&#8221; said Michael Ahrens, former communications director for the Republican National Committee. &#8220;This is the kind of operation you set \u2062up when you want \u200dto run for president, and he would absolutely \u2062jump in the race if the opportunity presented 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 progressive firm that has also\u2062 worked\u2064 with\u200c prominent figures like former Democratic presidential\u200c candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders and failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Additionally, around $181,000 has been spent on the Democratic advertising firm that Newsom used during his gubernatorial campaign, and approximately $60,000 has gone towards fundraising events and consulting. Meanwhile, Newsom has spent about $42,000 on visits to red states \u200cwith his family and staff, and \u2062has made direct\u2064 contributions of just under $11,000\u200c to red-state Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>Newsom&#8217;s national fundraising \u200band spending activities coincide with President Biden&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/elections\/top-dems-prepare-replacement-for-biden\/\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/poll-joe-biden-approval-rating-hits-record-low-as-he-reaches-one-year-as-president\/\" title=\"Poll: Joe Biden Approval Rating Hits Record Low as He Reaches One Year as President\">record-low approval ratings<\/a><\/a> and\u2064 growing discussions among Democrats about potential replacements. According to a recent CNN poll, 75% 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\u2063 run again. As Newsom is term-limited as \u200bgovernor of California,\u200c he has\u2063 transferred <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00836338\/1720014\/sa\/ALL\">$11.6 million<\/a> from\u2063 his gubernatorial campaign to \u200dthe Campaign\u2064 for Democracy. In another effort to position himself as a viable alternative to Biden, Newsom has challenged DeSantis to a debate moderated by Sean \u200bHannity on Fox News, scheduled for November.<\/p>\n<p>From the beginning, the Campaign for Democracy has\u200c run <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 \u200dand\u2064 former President Donald Trump, who are leading contenders in the Republican primary.\u200b These \u2063ads were initially posted from Newsom&#8217;s\u2063 gubernatorial campaign account on Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, the campaign ads have criticized Republicans, called for \u200cgrassroots support for a gun control amendment, and highlighted Newsom&#8217;s appearance on Fox News with conservative host Sean Hannity in June.<\/p>\n<p>Newsom has spent 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, \u200band Arkansas. During these visits, he has shared <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GavinNewsom\/status\/1643328253342412806\">photos<\/a> from civil rights sites and\u200b criticized conservative policies. In April, he even conducted an MSNBC interview with Jen Psaki, Biden&#8217;s former White House \u200bpress secretary, in\u2062 Alabama.<\/p>\n<p>The PAC&#8217;s records also reveal that Newsom has \u200cmade contributions of $10,000 to <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00836320\/1720010\/sb\/ALL\">Arkansas Democrats<\/a> and $744 to\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00836320\/1720010\/sb\/ALL\">Colin Allred<\/a>, the \u2064Democratic challenger to Texas Republican senator Ted Cruz.<\/p>\n<p>According \u2063to Bill Whalen, a research fellow \u2062at the conservative Hoover Institution, the campaign&#8217;s setup seems more focused on generating headlines and boosting Newsom&#8217;s national image rather than actually helping Democrats in red states or achieving \u2063the stated mission of passing a constitutional amendment. &#8220;It&#8217;s one thing\u2064 to say you want to\u2063 get involved in red state \u200bpolitics, \u2062and then a whole other thing to go to the red state and put the resources in to \u200ctry to make a difference,&#8221; Whalen commented. &#8220;By doing these\u2063 symbolic gestures like going to red states to talk about civil rights and gun control, it gives him the appearance of 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":1990611,"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-1990610","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\/1990610","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=1990610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1990610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1990611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1990610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1990610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1990610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}