Governors Newsom v. DeSantis Debate Date Announced

Fox News host Sean Hannity announced on Monday that a debate between political rivals California Governor Gavin Newsom and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will finally take place at the end of November following months of delays due to both Governors disagreeing on a few key aspects of the debate.

Governor Gavin Newsom denounced reports made earlier in the week that President Joe Biden is opposed to his proposed debate with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday, saying that the President is instead supportive of the debate.

For about a year, a debate between Newsom and DeSantis has long been rumored. Both Governors have had a long history of slighting the other state, from Newsom running ads in Florida praising California, to DeSantis backing sanctuary state flights for migrants to California, to both Governors fighting over companies like Disney placing jobs in their respective states. This growing tension, as well as Newsom and DeSantis being seen as likely Presidential challengers in the next few presidential election cycles, led to both agreeing to an off-election debate earlier in August.

However, for the last few months, both sides have been deadlocked over details of the debate itself. Under the debate terms outlined by Newsom in his letter to  Hannity, the debate would only be between the two candidates with no audience, aired live, last for 90 minutes, be moderated by Hannity, with neither candidate allowed to use notes during the debate. In addition, each candidate would get a four minute opening for remarks and would have 90 seconds to respond to each question and initially rebut, with an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent rebuttal. A final 2 minute closing remark would also be given, with speaking order determined by coin flip.

Conversely, the DeSantis camp said that they want a live audience for the debate, with audience members having a “50-50 split” ideologically, as well as notes allowed for the debaters. DeSantis also wants no opening remarks and instead wants a 2 minute long video for each candidate approved by Fox News beforehand. He also proposed several dates for the debate between September and November, with more GOP-friendlier debate locations and the policy-based debate including non-policy questions.

Other issues, such as when and where the debate would be held, had also been contended. While some parts were agreed to, such as Hannity hosting the debate, both sides dragged out negotiations. Not helping were aides for Vice President Kamala Harris coming out and saying that the debate was “disrespectful.”

Other political commentators pointed out that the debate could be seen as a “test run” for Newsom’s future political endeavors. To combat this, Newsom later said in an interview that he was backing Biden and Harris 100%. Other commentators charged that, for DeSantis, this was nothing more than just a stunt to regain support following a recent surge by Donald Trump in the polls. DeSantis has refuted those accusations.

The Newsom-DeSantis Debate – “The Reforma in Georgia”

Despite all the controversy, plans moved forward on Monday. According to Fox News, the debate will be held with Sean Hannity moderating the “Red vs. Blue State debate” on November 30th. The debate is to take place in Georgia, the only state that both sides agreed to, and what has become more and more of a swing-state in recent years. Most of Newsom’s terms were also agreed to, with the debate to last for 90 minutes with no audience.

“I’m looking forward to providing viewers with an informative debate about the everyday issues and governing philosophies that impact the lives of every American,” said Hannity on Monday.

Commentators noted on Monday that the debate, still two months away would likely be considered something of a preview for races to come in the next several years, including the 2028 presidential race.

“This could very well be a 2028 preview,”  said Dean Campbell, a debate coach and advisor in Washington, to the Globe on Monday. “Newsom got his way with the debate format in most places, so DeSantis is already at something of a disadvantage because he really likes a live audience.”

“But more to that, this shouldn’t be considered friendly for Newsom either. Sean Hannity will be moderating, and this will be on Fox News. Honestly though, this is what everyone thought 2024 would have been before the Democrats doubled down on Biden and Trump decided to give it another go despite all the lawsuits. Newsom and DeSantis were thrown off the momentum train. So this is something of a consolation, one of these rare debates not directly tied to an election being aired widely. We don’t get these too often. 2012, we had the Bill O’Reilly and Jon Stewart debate, but they were not politicians. These are two people, one not even running for president, going at it. This is going to be unique, and you can bet that Trump and Biden and Harris and others will be taking notes, because a one on one debate really shows debate styles and tendencies, so they’ll be more prepared.”

More details on the debate are expected to come out soon.