In an explosive matchup, California’s far-Left Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis met up Thursday for a red state vs. blue state debate.
In response, The Horn News has issued an urgent straw poll. Who won? Join our straw poll and tell us below.
The two big-state governors were eager to represent their parties on the national stage as they battled over the economy, pandemic restrictions, and President Joe Biden’s leadership in a Fox News faceoff peppered with fiery policy disputes and personal insults.
“This is a slick, slippery politician whose state is failing,” DeSantis said of Newsom.
The California Democrat defended his state, but was equally eager to shift the discussion to DeSantis’ stagnant 2024 presidential bid.
“How’s that going for you, Ron? You’re down 41 points in your own home state,” said Newsom, who is backing Biden for president. “Neither of us will be the nominee for a party in 2024.”
The host, Fox News Channel, billed the event hosted by Sean Hannity as “The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate.” Yet it was held in Georgia, a location chosen for its key swing-state implications in national politics. And it played out in the heart of presidential primary season with voters in both parties paying closer attention to their 2024 options heading into next fall’s general election.
As leaders of two of the three most populous states, DeSantis and Newsom have spent much of the past year poking each other’s policy choices and leadership style from afar. But on Thursday night, they got their first chance to challenge each other on the same national stage.
The two participants, standing at podiums alone onstage, accused each other of lying repeatedly and talked over each other throughout. And while they largely focused on policy differences, the debate was also deeply personal at times.
DeSantis called Newsom “a liberal bully.” Of DeSantis, Newsom said, “I don’t like the way you demean and humiliate people you disagree with.”
Hannity struggled to control the action. Over and over, he encouraged the men to give each other “breathing room.”
DeSantis, a 45-year-old Republican governor elected to his second and final term last fall, is grasping for momentum in a 2024 campaign to defeat former President Donald Trump, who remains the overwhelming front-runner in the GOP primary.
Newsom, California’s 56-year-old term-limited Democratic governor, has positioned himself to seek the presidency someday, but like the rest of his party’s most ambitious leaders, he declined to challenge the unpopular president for the Democratic nomination in 2024.
Conservatives on social media praised some of DeSantis’ moments. Actor James Woods said, “It’s a blessing for DeSantis that California doesn’t enforce criminal laws anymore. Because he murdered Newsom tonight.”
It’s a blessing for DeSantis that California doesn’t enforce criminal laws anymore.
Because he murdered Newsom tonight.
pic.twitter.com/Yp6odhATR7— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) December 1, 2023
Both Newsom and DeSantis saw Thursday night’s meeting as a real opportunity to strengthen their political standing in the short and longer term.
DeSantis’ allies talked up the event in recent days as a rare opportunity to prove his strength against one of the nation’s most prominent Democrats — a sharp contrast from recent Republican presidential debates where he’s struggled to break through on a stage where the candidates agree on most issues.
And even some of DeSantis’ Republican rivals privately acknowledged he would likely raise a significant amount of money through online donations as a result of the appearance. His presidential campaign quickly sent out highlights to followers.
DeSantis just ended Newsom's political ambitions with this. pic.twitter.com/85byFNJPBJ
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) December 1, 2023
Just minutes after the event concluded, DeSantis’ campaign claimed vitory and sent out a statement from his campaign manager with the headline, “DeSantis Crushes Newsom and Biden, Unites Republicans in Debate Win.”
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Ron DeSantis vs. Gavin Newsom; Who won?
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The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article