Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' chances of winning in 2024 diminished last night after his fiery debate performance against California Democratic leader Gavin Newsom.
DeSantis, 45, and Newsom, 56, took the stage and went head-to-head in Alpharetta, Georgia, on Thursday night to defend their states, moderated by Fox News' Sean Hannity.
The two men have been at each other's throats over the airwaves for months and finally got the chance to meet in person to hash out some of the most controversial issues facing America in recent years.
The battle between the governors not only provided the ultimate showdown between red and blue, but also provided a preview of a future presidential race — if not in this cycle, then in a later one.
At 6:00 PM EST, before the debate began, DeSantis' odds of winning the 2024 presidential election were 53/1, while Newsom was 10/1.
But after the fierce battle, DeSantis' odds improved to 48/1, while Newsom's dropped to 12/1, according to oddschecker.com.
At 6:00 PM EST, before the debate began, DeSantis' odds of winning the 2024 presidential election were 53/1, while Newsom was 10/1. But after the fierce battle, DeSantis' odds improved to 48/1, while Newsom's dropped to 12/1, according to oddschecker.com
Despite neither governor being in the forefront of their respective parties' presidential nominees, the scores nonetheless show that bettors were seemingly more impressed with DeSantis than Newsom.
During the tense confrontation, the two state leaders took personal blows and fought to speak over each other.
DeSantis blasted his California counterpart by pointing out his hypocrisy during COVID-19 by going out to fine-dining restaurant The French Laundry and sending his children to in-person private schools while his residents were still in lockdown.
He said California ran out of UHauls because so many people were moving to red states, including Florida. He said the new residents in Florida include the father of Newsom's wife.
Newsom did not back down in the one-on-one debate and lashed out at DeSantis, saying neither will be presidential candidates in 2024.
“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.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom (pictured) said Thursday evening that “ten 9/11s” of Californians would have died from COVID-19 if he had followed the same policies as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“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.”
Newsom has repeatedly said he has no plans to run for president in 2024 and has served as a surrogate for President Joe Biden since launching his reelection campaign this year.
On the other hand, DeSantis is embroiled in a heated primary, coming in a distant second to former President Donald Trump.
“I give Gavin credit — he at least admitted in his first answer that he's joined at the hip with Biden and Harris,” DeSantis said during Thursday's debate.
“He thinks Biden and Harris have done a great job. He thinks the economy works because of their policies for the Americans, and that is not the case.
The governor added, “What California represents is the Biden-Harris agenda on steroids.”
He noted that Newsom is the first leader in California to see the state losing population instead of gaining it.
Despite neither governor being in the forefront of their respective parties' presidential nominees, the scores nonetheless show that bettors were seemingly more impressed with DeSantis than Newsom.
“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.
After the debate, DeSantis said at a press conference that he decided to have the debate because it was “good exposure” for him as Trump soaks up most of the media attention in the Republican Party primaries.
“Part of the reason I did it is because Sean is a friend,” Desantis said of the Fox host, adding that he was initially hesitant to participate since Newsom is not an official 2024 candidate.
“But then I thought about it,” he explained at a post-debate press conference. 'I am in a race where one candidate receives a disproportionate amount of media attention. And so I have to be able to convey my message.'
DeSantis blasted his California counterpart by pointing out his hypocrisy during COVID-19 by going out to fine-dining restaurant The French Laundry and sending his children to in-person private schools while his residents were still in lockdown.
“So to have 90 minutes on national television where I can box someone who is far left, that's good exposure for me,” he said.
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 .