Ron DeSantis tears into Gavin Newsom for having so many residents – including his father-in-law – leave California they ‘ran out of U-Hauls’: Democrat hits back saying NEITHER will be a presidential nominee in 2024

The claws emerged early as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and California Governor Gavin Newsom took the stage for a one-on-one debate on Thursday.

DeSantis immediately took some personal swipes at his California counterpart, pointing out his hypocrisy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Newsom did not back down, claiming that the only similarity between them is that neither will be the candidate for president in 2024, in an attempt to attack the Republican nominee.

“You almost have to try to confuse California,” DeSantis said during spirited opening remarks, explaining why his state is superior. “That's what Gavin Newsom has done since he's been governor.”

“He imposed restrictions on his own people while exempting himself from those restrictions and doing the French laundry while his people suffered,” the Florida governor said. “He led the country in school closures, which kept children out of school, even though he personally had his own children in private school.”

“You almost have to try to mess up California,” DeSantis said during spirited opening remarks. “That's what Gavin Newsom has done since he's been governor.”

He noted that Newsom is the first leader in California to see the state losing population instead of gaining it.

“They didn't even have U-Hauls in the state of California at one point because so many people were leaving,” DeSantis said at the start of a debate full of tension and crosstalk.

Newsom acknowledged, “There are deep disagreements tonight, and I look forward to engaging with them.”

“But there is one thing we have in common: neither of us will be our party's nominee in 2024,” he said.

The governors took the stage Thursday night to prove once and for all which of their states are superior and which of their governing styles work better for their residents.

The highly anticipated match was expected to be exciting – and it didn't disappoint.

The two men have been at each other's throats over the air for months and finally get the chance to meet in person.

Tensions between DeSantis and Newsom culminate in Alpharetta, Georgia, where Fox News host Sean Hannity asks the two why their approach to governing is the best.

The battle between the governors not only offers the ultimate showdown between red and blue, but it could also be a preview of a future presidential race — if not in this cycle, then during a later one.

Newsom joked to DeSantis with, “There are profound differences tonight, and I look forward to joining the conversation.” But there is one thing we have in common: neither of us will be nominated for our party in 2024.”

Some are also looking for alternatives to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who will likely see a rematch in 2024.

DeSantis is currently entering the 2024 Republican presidential race and has consistently ranked second, but far behind Trump. He has already participated without Trump in three Republican presidential primaries against his Republican competitors, prior to the battle with Newsom.

Meanwhile, Newsom is not entering the 2024 race — insisting he has no plans to enter the race and is instead serving as a surrogate for Biden.

“As Democrats ramp up their efforts to replace the historically unpopular and failed Joe Biden as their nominee, Ron DeSantis' showdown with Gavin Newsom becomes even more timely,” DeSantis campaign manager James Uthmeier said in a statement to DailyMail.com

He added: “A Newsom presidency would accelerate America's decline, and November 30 will be the first opportunity to expose to a national audience how dangerous his radical ideology would be to the country.”

“Ron DeSantis will take this responsibility seriously and looks forward to sharing the stark contrast between his vision to revitalize our nation and Newsom's blueprint for failure.”

Newsom spokesman Nathan Click told DailyMail.com the day before the debate that the California governor is participating because he has “long believed that Democrats should go on the offensive in enemy territory, and that is exactly what he plans to do .'

Hannity helped arrange the terms of the debate, with at least one of the candidates preferring not to have a studio audience.

The Fox News host told DailyMail.com in an interview on Tuesday: “I've taken the crazy position of dealing with this myself. I thought it was too important.'

Newsom initially challenged DeSantis to a debate in September 2022. DeSantis was not yet running in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

In an interview with Hannity in June, Newsom, a liberal, again said he would debate DeSantis, a conservative, while the Fox host would moderate.

DeSantis officially agreed in August, telling Hannity during an interview, “I'm game. Let's get it done. Just tell me when and where.'

“We were shocked when he accepted,” Click told DailyMail.com

“Newsom had been challenging Desantis (sic) to debate for months, and the fact that he finally accepted while his campaign was in trouble shows how badly Desantis (sic) needs to distract from his disastrous candidacy,” he added .