Gavin Newsom launches ad campaign against Greg Abbott

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is running newspaper ads against Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott over his policies on abortion and gun control.

Newsom took out full-page ads in the El Paso Times, Houston Chronicle, and Austin American-Statesman, Politico reported.

The ad runs a quote from Abbott on abortion, but substituted the term for "gun violence," evidently attempting to showcase the perceived hypocrisy of Abbot holding "pro-life" policies on abortion while resisting gun control measures following a string of mass shootings.

Texas, a constitutional carry state, has some of the loosest gun laws in the country, in stark contrast to California, which has some of the strictest. The Lone Star State maintains a strict anti-abortion law with a novel enforcement mechanism that allows citizens to bring suits against abortion providers. Newsom on Friday signed a California gun control law that copied the Texas enforcement plan, allowing citizens to sue gun manufacturers and distributors.

Newsom previously took out attack ads in Florida against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on free speech and education issues. The California governor's high profile criticism of his counterparts in red states has prompted speculation he may be testing the waters for a potential 2024 presidential run, though Newsom has said he will back President Joe Biden in that campaign cycle.