California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who are set to debate on Nov. 30, have frequently traded vicious jabs. Newsom has dismissed the Republican governor as “weak,” “undisciplined,” and a “cruel” bully who has made his entire political career on “attacking vulnerable communities.” 

Meanwhile, DeSantis has asserted that Newsom’s leftist policies wreak havoc in California and are causing a “mass exodus of productive Americans” from the state. He has also ridiculed Newsom’s apparent “fixation” on Florida despite “huge problems” in California, claiming that “[Newsom’s] hair gel is interfering with his brain function.”

Last Wednesday, after attending the second GOP debate, Newsom escalated tensions even further when he mocked DeSantis for accepting his challenge to debate, which he said was a “bait.” He added that his Florida counterpart is “distracted” and “completely unqualified” to be president. 

While both governors will look to throw in a few more personal insults during the November face-off, it is poised to be a golden opportunity for the public to witness the clash between the Republican and Democratic visions for America. Here are five topics that could cause tensions to flare during the upcoming debate.

The Border Crisis

The governors have expressed diametrically opposed views on illegal immigration. Newsom famously declared California to be a “sanctuary for all who seek it” during his 2019 inaugural speech as governor. He has since implemented sanctuary policies in California, which seek to promote the welfare of illegal immigrants and restrict local officials’ cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

In July 2021, Newsom provided over a quarter million undocumented individuals in California with full-scope, comprehensive Medi-Cal health coverage. About a year later, he announced that California would guarantee free health care for all low-income illegal immigrants, at an estimated cost of $2.7 billion a year. Newsom also signed a bill known as “CA ID for All” last September, allowing undocumented migrants to get California identification cards.

By contrast, DeSantis has taken a hard line on illegal immigration, arguing that sanctuary policies are unfair to nonimmigrants and legal immigrants while placing the public at risk by making it difficult for federal authorities to prosecute criminal aliens. In June 2019, the governor signed a bill prohibiting sanctuary policies in Florida and requiring local governments to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

DeSantis also made national headlines when he tried to protest against President Joe Biden’s border policies by sending planes full of South American migrants to Democratic-led areas with sanctuary policies, including Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts last September and California’s capital city, Sacramento, this June. 

Newsom called DeSantis a “small, pathetic man” and accused him of “kidnapping” the migrants. DeSantis, in response, said the flights were meant to expose “liberal hypocrisy,” adding that Democratic states “were so proud to be sanctuary jurisdictions” but “all of a sudden [went] berserk” when migrants arrived. 

Abortion 

DeSantis and Newsom reacted differently after the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade eliminated the constitutional right to abortion and gave each state the authority to set its own abortion policies. 

In September 2022, Newsom signed a slew of bills aimed at protecting and expanding abortion access in California. He described the bills as “the largest reproductive freedom bill package in state history,” adding that no other state was “doing more to protect these fundamental rights.”

DeSantis, on the other hand, said “the prayers of millions have been answered” in response to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and immediately noted that he “will work to expand pro-life protections.”

The Florida governor signed the Heartbeat Protection Act this April, which prohibits most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. While critics like Newsom have accused Florida and other pro-life states of criminalizing women, DeSantis said his six-week abortion ban has criminal penalties for only the physicians performing abortions. 

Climate Change

Speaking at a Texas oil rig site on Sept. 20, DeSantis denounced concerns about climate change as being “driven by ideology” — claiming that better access to electricity and power has made us “safer than ever from climate disasters” — and unveiled his plans to achieve American energy dominance.  

DeSantis promised voters that he would, if elected president, slow down the expansion of America’s electric vehicle industry while ramping up domestic fossil fuel production. He would also roll back some environmental regulations and withdraw the country from the Paris climate agreement, which is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Emphasizing the importance of energy dominance in the face of global competitors like China and Russia, DeSantis said, “We will use our energy dominance to deny our enemies revenue. We will bankrupt their ability to threaten America and we will help our allies become less reliant on our adversaries.”

But the California governor has taken a nearly antithetical stance, viewing climate change as an “existential threat” to humanity. Newsom’s California Climate Commitment is spending $54 billion to “[usher] in a new era for clean energy,” reducing fossil fuel consumption by 90 percent, air pollution by 71 percent, and greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent over the next two decades.  

During Climate Week in New York last month, Newsom announced that California is suing major oil corporations. Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, praised Newsom’s lawsuit as “the most significant, decisive, and powerful climate action directed against the oil and gas industry in U.S. history.”

Gun control

DeSantis, a staunch supporter of gun rights, signed a bill this April allowing Florida residents who can legally own a gun to carry concealed firearms without a government-issued permit. “You don’t need a permission slip from the government to be able to exercise your constitutional rights,” DeSantis said at the time. 

His California counterpart quickly condemned the bill, noting in an interview with former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, “They don’t care about our kids. Cause if they did, they’d ban these damn weapons of war. They would have background checks that require some common damn sense.”

This June, the California governor proposed a 28th Amendment to the Constitution to put in place what he called “common sense gun safety measures,” such as universal background checks, a waiting period for firearm purchases, raising the minimum purchase age from 18 to 21, and prohibiting the sales of assault weapons to civilians.

Newsom also approved nearly two dozen gun control measures last month, including one banning firearm carrying in most public places and another doubling California’s taxes on guns and ammunition. But the governor admitted that many of his measures would likely be thrown out by federal courts. In fact, a California law prohibiting firearms that have detachable magazines with more than 10 rounds was overruled by a federal judge on Sept. 22. 

Education

The governors have taken divergent approaches to education reforms as well. While Newsom has invested heavily in California’s public school system, boasting the highest ever per-pupil investment in state history, DeSantis is a fervent advocate for parents’ school choice. 

Florida House Speaker Paul Renner said DeSantis’ Florida “puts parents and students first by giving them the freedom to customize their education to fit every child’s unique needs.” This March DeSantis signed House Bill (HB) 1, which further expands school choice options and “cements Florida’s position as the nation’s leader in school choice.”

DeSantis drew controversy in March 2022 when he signed the Parental Rights in Education bill — which critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — prohibiting “classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through 3rd grade.” Earlier this year, the governor also cracked down on school books containing sexually explicit content and critical race theory.

In response, Newsom accused DeSantis of “whitewash[ing]” history and claimed that “education is under assault in ways that I’ve never experienced in my lifetime.” On Sept. 25, the California governor signed a bill that prohibits schools in his state from banning and censoring books about racial or sexual themes.

DeSantis, however, insisted that he would continue to defend the right of families to determine their children’s education,” adding that parents “should be protected from schools using classroom instruction to sexualize their kids as young as 5 years old.”

The DeSantis–Newsom debate is set to be a clash of ideologies that mirrors America’s broader political landscape. The showdown will give voters clarity on where each party stands on critical issues, thus guiding their choices in upcoming elections.