California governor Gavin Newsom and Florida governor Ron DeSantis have agreed to appear in a head-to-head debate in November, Fox News announced Monday.
The “red state vs. blue state” debate will take place on November 30 in Georgia and will be moderated by Fox News anchor Sean Hannity. The 90-minute exchange will air during the 9 p.m. ET time slot of his show, Hannity.
Newsom and DeSantis have fueled speculation about a potential showdown for months. DeSantis first agreed to a public exchange in August, and the time and location was finally confirmed Monday.
“I’m game. Let’s get it done. Just tell me when and where,” DeSantis said.
Newsom and DeSantis have often sparred in the media over their political differences. As California has served as ground zero for Newsom’s liberal policies, so has Florida for the conservative policies of DeSantis. The politicians have often pointed to outcomes in the other’s state as evidence of the failures of the opposing party’s platform.
The governors are expected to debate the success of their policies and attempt to bolster their own political futures — DeSantis as a Republican presidential primary candidate, and Newsom as a leading voice of the Democratic party. Newsom has maintained that he will not seek the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination.
The pairing of a potential presidential nominee with a state politician on the national debate stage is uncommon. Newsom and DeSantis are opponents only ideologically — they are not running for the same office. DeSantis may be trying to rouse the Right’s fervor against leftist policies by appearing at the debate and thus bolster his own campaign, as Newsom is often viewed as the champion of “wokeism.” Many of DeSantis’s policies in Florida were direct reactions to or reversals of Newsom’s policies in California, particularly with regards to policies pertaining to gender issues and education.