DeSantis To Face Newsom In 'Red Vs. Blue State Debate'

FLORIDA — Fox News personality Sean Hannity will moderate a “red vs. blue state debate" between governors Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom, the cable network announced Monday.

The 90-minute debate will take place at a to-be-determined Georgia location and will air 9 p.m. EST on Nov. 30 on Hannity’s eponymous Fox program.

“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,” Hannity said in a news release.

Hannity first suggested the possibility of a debate to Newsom in June during a sit-down interview with the California Democrat. Florida’s DeSantis, who is in the midst of a Republican presidential primary campaign, agreed in July to participate.

Newsom has requested no live audience, Politico reported, adding Fox declined Monday to confirm if the condition would be met.

The big-name governors lead two of the country’s most populous states, both of which have come to represent opposing sides of America’s widening political and cultural divide.

"I look forward to the opportunity to debate Gavin Newsom over our very different visions for the future of our country," DeSantis said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“The contrast of California’s failures to Florida’s success demonstrates that Ron DeSantis is right: decline is merely a choice," Andrew Romeo, DeSantis' campaign spokesman, told NBC News. "Whether Newsom or Biden is the Democrat nominee in ‘24, they both offer the same failed and dangerous ideology for America that helped get us in this mess. We look forward to putting Ron DeSantis’ record of success up against it."

“We’ve agreed to the debate — provided there is no cheering section, no hype videos or any of the other crutches Desantis requested," Newsom spokesperson Nathan Click told NBC. He added the California governor wants "a real debate — not a circus."

Both Newsom and DeSantis are in their second term as governor and can't run for reelection because of term limits.

The two governors have squabbledpublicly on issues including immigration, abortion, gun rights and education, each portraying the policies in the other’s state as a failure of their respective party’s politics, The Washington Post reported.