Political divide between red and blue states on display as governors inaugurated

Amna Nawaz:

This month, governors around the country are being sworn into new terms. And, in many states, the divisions of last fall's election are still front and center.

Today, Democrat Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Republican Greg Abbott of Texas each made the forceful case for their states.

Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA):

We proved together that we value our freedoms and that we are willing to do the hard work necessary to protect our fundamental rights.

And to those who didn't cast a vote for me, I heard you too. And I will do my best every day to be a governor for all Pennsylvanians.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX):

People from across America, they are fleeing the oppression of high taxes, red tape, burdensome regulations in other states and coming to Texas, where freedom and fortune are found around every corner.

Amna Nawaz:

Following these inaugurations and how they could shape future elections is Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter.

Amy, great to see you.

Amy Walter, The Cook Political Report:

Thank you. Great to see you.

Amna Nawaz:

So, let's talk about this.

Governors are clearly laying out their priorities for the next year. Some are looking further ahead than that to 2024, some possible presidential ambitions there.

But among those you're paying attention to, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, what is his message?

Amy Walter:

Right.

No one is being focused — as focused on 2024 than somebody like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He's mentioned in almost every conversation about the 2024 Republican presidential campaign. In his inaugural address, he's speaking to Floridians, but really he's speaking to the Republican primary audience.

He talks a lot about Florida's role in protecting basically what red states put as their most important priorities. He talks not simply about, as you saw from Governor Abbott, cutting regulation and red tape, but if you listen to the clip here, it's about saying that Florida's message is basically that the blue states are overreaching.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL):

When other states consigned their people's freedom to the dustbin, Florida stood strongly as freedom's linchpin.

In captaining the ship of state, we choose to navigate the boisterous sea of liberty, rather than cower in the calm docks of despotism.

Amy Walter:

This wasn't just simply, hey, come to Florida, we have low taxes, we have a great quality of life, look at our beaches. It's, if you come to Florida, you're also making a political statement. Your decision to come to this state is to be in the boisterous seas, as he said, of freedom, taking that over being in what he sees as blue states who are limiting freedoms, that are regulating, overregulating, but overregulating not just on things like taxes and those sorts of policies, but regulating on cultural issues.

Amna Nawaz:

Yes.

Amy Walter:

He talks a lot in that speech too about fighting against wokism, which is basically the kind of thing you talk about in a Republican audience. It gets them certainly more excited than almost any other issue.

Amna Nawaz:

And that's something we hear a lot from Governor DeSantis as well.

But he's not alone in using his inaugural dress in this way. One of those blue state governor we know he was targeting and talking about there is California Governor Gavin Newsom, right? What did Newsom have to say in this, his second inaugural?

Amy Walter:

That's right.

And both of these men were just reelected. So they have the opportunity now to make the case, not just for what they're looking ahead for, 2023, but, again, Newsom looking at '24 as well. He's mentioned in many conversations as being a potential presidential candidate.

His argument — and he's been making this now for the last few months — is that California is the last line of defense for the values of blue states, especially on issues like abortion, or, in the case as he makes out in his inaugural, fighting against — literally fighting against red states and what he calls the media that backs those states and the people who run those states.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA):

Red state politicians and the media empire behind them selling regression as progress, oppression as freedom.

And as we all know too well, there's nothing original about their demagoguery. All across the nation, anxiety about social change has awakened long dormant authoritarian impulses, calling into question, calling into question what America is to become, freer and fairer or reverting to a darker past.

Amy Walter:

Again, it feels very similar to DeSantis, in the sense of, if you are going to come on, come to California, your decision to come to California, whether you are an individual family, a business, you're making more than a statement about the quality of life in that state. You're making a political and cultural statement about the values that a blue state or a red state hold.

Amna Nawaz:

We should point out, not every governor is delivering this kind of message right now.

Amy Walter:

That's right. That's right.

Amna Nawaz:

You look, for example, to Georgia, right, Brian Kemp.

He is very much delivering much more of a unifying message, the one we're accustomed to seeing in this platform. Why is that? Why can he do that?

Amy Walter:

Well, Brian Kemp is a — again, he also won reelection, but he's a governor of a purple state. And it's not as if he ran as a moderate. He's a very conservative Republican.

But if you would listen to the clip from his inaugural, what you see is a candidate — well, a governor — and, as a candidate, somebody who has to appeal to a very purple swing state.

Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA):

Four years ago I made this promise to the people of our great state. Whether you voted for me or not, I was going to work hard every day to put you and your families first.

And while a lot has changed and once-in-a-lifetime events have tested all of us, my commitment to the people of this state has not wavered.

Amy Walter:

Right.

He is a Republican who's able to succeed in a state that Joe Biden carried and, of course, at the Senate level, where Democrats have now won two elections in a row, in part because he's able to win over some of those voters who aren't really happy with what they may be seeing from the national Republican Party, but see in Brian Kemp somebody who is focused on the issues that they really care about.

Amna Nawaz:

So, Amy, when you look at that more partisan, strident language, it's fair to say that's become much more common in political discourse.

Amy Walter:

Absolutely.

Amna Nawaz:

When you hear it from someone like DeSantis or Newsom, are they the exceptions because they could have these bigger political aspirations, or is this a trend that we're going to see more of?

Amy Walter:

Well, I think we have seen much more of a trend of candidates coming right out of the blocks and trying to appeal to the base.

And you can do that when you're in a blue state or a red state. They're sort of on the vanguard there. But if you're in a purple state, what we heard from Josh Shapiro at the very beginning, what we heard from Brian Kemp, you're in one of those purple states, you have to find a way to thread the needle, keep your base engaged.

You're going to talk to them about the issues that motivate them, but without alienating the swing voters. You're not going to win over your detractors. But I think this is — if we learned anything from these last two elections, for candidates who want to be successful, running just as the anti is only going to get you so far. You also have to bring something that is more aspirational and something that reaches across to people who are not identifying themselves with a blue or red jersey.

Amna Nawaz:

Fascinating look at something I'm sure we're going to pay more attention to as well.

Amy Walter:

Thank you. Yes.

Amna Nawaz:

Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter, great to see you. Thank you.

Amy Walter:

Great to see you. Thank you.