Gavin Newsom buys ads in Florida, fuelling speculation about potential national ambitions

This, along with a recent spate of attacks on Republicans across the country, has fuelled speculation about Newsom's potential national ambitions.

According to Medium Buying, Newsom purchased $105k worth of ad space on Fox News in Florida for July 4.

Following the news, many questioned why the governor of California would be spending money to run ads in a state nearly 3,000 miles away.

"It's the best way to reach California residents," one user replied, poking fun at the fact that in recent years, many Californians have switched coasts to live in DeSantis' Florida.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis took note of Newsom's purchase, and offered a response.

"Gavin Newsom might as well light a pile of cash on fire," a DeSantis spokesperson said in a statement to The Daily Wire. "Pass the popcorn for his desperate attempt to win back the California refugees who fled the hellhole he created in his state to come to Florida."

He suggested Newsom's "pathetic smear campaigns" won't work in Florida because residents are "too busy enjoying the freedom Governor Ron DeSantis has created in the Sunshine State."

Along with the ad purchase, Newsom has recently ramped up his attacks on Republicans at a national level.

On Monday, he called out "extremist Republicans" for "trying to eliminate fundamental American freedoms," adding that it's "time to fight back."

Two days earlier, he suggested Republicans were creating a "nation of gun care and health control."

Earlier in the month, the governor made a point of joining Trump's social media platform Truth Social "to call out Republican lies."

All this has fuelled speculation that Newsom, who in May said he had "sub-zero interest" in running for president, may have changed his mind on going national.