Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) will face off on Thursday in what will be a headline-grabbing debate, putting their respective states’ policy differences and leadership styles in the spotlight.
The two will partake in a first-of-its-kind debate, airing live on Fox News from Alpharetta, Georgia.
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Here is everything you can expect DeSantis to throw at Newsom.
Economy and Jobs
DeSantis has previously touted Florida's low unemployment rate — comparing his state’s economy to California.
California and Florida are both economic powerhouses, having the largest and third-largest states by population in the nation, respectively.
“Florida is bucking the national trends and we continue to see job growth month after month,” DeSantis said in a press release this month, touting the state’s job rate. “In Florida, we are driving economic success through smart investments in workforce education, strong infrastructure and local community development.”
California’s unemployment rate was the second highest in the nation last month, coming in at 4.8%. Florida had the 11th best at 2.8% in a near-historic low, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national rate in October was 3.9%.
Florida outperforms California’s post-pandemic employment rebound, seeing lower dips in job markets such as construction and manufacturing.
Newsom often brags that California has one of the world’s fastest growing economies — if the state were a country, it would be the fifth largest economy in the world. In 2021, California's economy grew at one of the fastest paces in the U.S., 7.8%, while Florida’s grew 6.9% the same year. However, California’s economy only advanced 0.4% in 2022 — Florida's grew 4%.
Depending on the location, Florida is generally more affordable than California as it doesn't have a state income tax.
Energy
The Republican presidential contender has promised to slow the nation’s transition to electric vehicles, an effort California leads. DeSantis has repeatedly made the case for natural gas as a more reliable form of electricity and blasted the dependency on foreign materials and parts for EVs.
In a measure approved by the California Air Resources Board, California proposed a mandate that requires all new cars sold to be zero emissions by 2035. Over a dozen states have followed suit since the new regulations were introduced last year.
Speaking at a campaign event in Long Beach, California, in September, DeSantis took aim at California’s zero-emissions requirements.
“This is basically the petri dish for leftism in this country,” DeSantis said, per Courthouse News Service. “So whatever Biden’s doing, he’s a few years behind what they’re doing here in California, so I think the thing that they’re doing with this diesel truck mandate and all that, that is absolutely what is going to be done nationally, and I know they’re working together on that.”
Homelessness and drug crises
Newsom has allocated more than $20 billion to the state’s homelessness crisis, with billions more for health and social services since 2019, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Despite the Democratic governor's efforts, the state's homeless population has increased from 2018 to 2022, now representing 30% of the nation's homeless population.
DeSantis has not shied away from highlighting California’s struggles, campaigning off some of the state’s most heavily affected cities. In a campaign video released this summer, DeSantis takes to the streets of San Francisco, a hot spot for homelessness, as the city grapples with a deadly drug epidemic.
“We came in here and saw people defecating on the street. We saw people using heroin. We saw people smoking crack cocaine,” DeSantis said, adding he saw open-air drug use and collapsed businesses.
While Democrats and Republicans alike agree on the urgency of America’s opioid epidemic, the governors have varying policies on how to tackle addiction. In 2012, California’s drug overdose death rate was 26.6 per 100,000 people, while Florida's drug overdose death rate was 37.5 per 100,000 people according to the CDC.
Immigration
The debate will likely encompass their contrasting immigration policies, as Newsom and DeSantis have vastly different approaches to border security and immigration reform.
Newsom has long advocated for the rights of undocumented immigrants, pushing to expand Medi-Cal to all qualified residents regardless of immigration status. DeSantis signed a bill in May that creates strict laws for undocumented immigrants, including a requirement for hospitals that accept Medicaid to ask a question on the intake forms about the patient’s citizenship status.
Newsom ramped up attacks on DeSantis earlier this year after he flew dozens of migrants to California. DeSantis has defended his actions.
Newsom called for a probe in June after 36 Venezuelan and Colombian migrants were dropped off in Sacramento from two planes, calling the Florida governor a “small, pathetic man” on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. California Attorney General Rob Bonta in June requested documents related to the migrant flights from Florida officials as part of the ongoing law enforcement investigation, but so far, no consequences have been brought against the DeSantis administration, or the airline for its involvement.
Education
Each governor holds opposing views on how to regulate public education and colleges, with DeSantis pushing for book bans, removing LGBTQ policies, and targeting race-related curriculum, while Newsom has taken the opposite approach.
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The Florida Board of Education voted in July to update standards for teaching Black history, including instruction on how slaves benefited from skills that they learned.
Over 40% of all book bans nationwide occurred in Florida school districts, according to a report from free speech advocacy group PEN America. In September, Newsom signed a bill that prohibits school boards across the state from banning books that include “inclusive and diverse perspectives.”