New Study Reveals BIG Divides Between Governors DeSantis & Newsom on Individual Liberties, etc.

A new study from the Institute for Legislative Analysis focused on a stringent comparison between Governor Ron DeSantis and Governor Gavin Newsom, and identified the largest policy divides between the two governors, as well as their state legislatures.

Ron DeSantis’ record aligned with limited government principles 76.25% of the time, above the Florida legislature’s 62.61% average but slightly below the 77.29% Republican average, according to the Institute.

Governor Gavin Newsom’s record did not align with limited government principles – aligned only 39.00% above the California Legislature’s dismal 23.96% average and significantly above the 5.08% Democrat average.

Even the California Legislature and state Democrats fail worse than Gov. Newsom – but he is running for President this year. Previous years’ comparisons of Newsom would not show even as well as 39%.

The data is based on the Institute for Legislative Analysis California and Florida legislative reports, the most comprehensive policy analyses ever conducted on both state legislatures, made up of a combined 17,000 votes and actions taken by each state’s lawmakers and the Governors, according to the Institute.

“The report measured both DeSantis’ and Newsom’s alignment with the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution across key policy fields on a 0 to 100 scale,” with a “100%” rating representing a bill signage and veto history completely aligned with limited government. The report also compared each Governor to their legislature, providing greater insight on whether they over or under-perform based on the political makeup of their state.

“Governor DeSantis’ top performance was on local and national security (100% vs. 60% legislature), where he stood up against multiple soft on crime policies advanced by the legislature. He also earned perfect ratings on protecting Individual Liberties and Education. However, DeSantis lagged the legislature on Tax and Fiscal issues (33% vs. 42% legislature) and on Regulations (50% vs. 51% legislature).”

“Interestingly, Governor Newsom’s worst performance was within DeSantis’ top category of Individual Liberties (13% vs. 33% legislature) while also struggling on Energy and Environment (20% vs. 30% legislature). Surprisingly, Newsom outperformed not only the legislature, but even California Republicans on Tax and Fiscal issues (60% vs. 14% legislature vs. 58% Republican) and was also relatively strong on Regulations (57% vs. 18% legislature).” (emphasis the Institute)

The Florida and California reports each contain over 100 detailed policy analyses on the bills signed and vetoed by each Governor. Also highlighted are the multiple bills in which both Governors took actions which went against traditional party dogma, such as DeSantis’s support for stricter price controls on lending, and Newsom’s opposition to greater regulations on healthcare.

Gov. Newsom was downgraded for signing legislation increasing prevailing wage mandates, forcing taxpayers to pay for scholarships and training for abortion providers, expanding firearm seizures, targeting doctors for spreading COVID “misinformation,” weakening election integrity, among other anti-business and anti-taxpayer bills.

Read the rest of the study here.

And be sure to watch the DeSantis v. Newsom debate Thursday evening on Fox News: