Newsom, DeSantis both claim 'freedom' as election mandates
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are both claiming the mantle of freedom in their election day victories
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis, governors of states on opposite ends of both the country and the political spectrum, held up their governing styles this week as models for the nation ahead of the 2024 presidential election as they rushed to use their convincing midterm victories to stake a claim on the nation's most enduring political promise: Freedom.
“We affirmed clearly with conviction that we are a true freedom state,” Newsom, a Democrat in California, declared on Tuesday after handily winning a second term.
“We stood as a citadel of freedom for people across this country, and indeed across the world," DeSantis, a Republican in Florida, told a raucous crowd of supporters after cruising to his own second term.
But both men define “freedom” in vastly different ways. For Newsom, freedom means the right to say yes: To an abortion, to government-funded health care for immigrants, to gender-affirming care for children. For DeSantis, freedom means the right to say no: To COVID vaccines, to illegal immigration, to what he calls “indoctrination” on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.
