Finally, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Florida Governor. Ron DeSantis wants a showdown on a public stage.

Fox News announced Monday that Sean Hannity will moderate a 90-minute debate between the two bitter rivals on November 30. The debate will take place in Georgia and air on Hannity’s show.

“We have agreed to the debate on the condition that there is no cheering portion, no hype videos or other crutches that DeSantis requested,” said Nathan Click, a spokesman for Newsom. “We want a real debate, not a circus.”

The

on television

The spectacle will take place in the midst of a contentious Republican presidential contest, offering America an odd sideshow in an already unusual political season dominated by former President Trump’s campaign to return to the White House as he fights criminal charges in Florida, New York, Washington, DC, and Georgia.

DeSantis and other Republican presidential candidates, minus Trump, will face off in their own debate on Wednesday in Simi Valley, with Newsom being deployed as a surrogate for Joe Biden as the president seeks a second term.

For DeSantis, the two debates offer an opportunity to boost his floundering effort to overtake Trump. The battle with Newsom comes after years of sharpshooting between the two coastal governors, a feud that DeSantis said embodied a “great experiment in governing philosophy” in blue versus red America.

DeSantis

posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, trolling California and promoting Florida on Monday.

“Decreasing is a choice and success is achievable,” DeSantis said in a tweet

are they still called tweets?

at the video. “As president, I will lead America’s revival. I look forward to the opportunity to debate our very different visions for the future of our country with Gavin Newsom.

“

Newsom has been trying to draw DeSantis into a public feud for more than a year, harassing him at almost every opportunity.

Newsom has repeatedly accused DeSantis of being a right-wing “bully” who wants to erase civil rights victories, abortion laws, immigrant protections and hard-won LGTBQ+ rights. DeSantis blames Newsom for “left-wing policies” that have turned California into what he describes as a lawless, high-tax wasteland with rampant homelessness, crime and drugs.

For Newsom, entering the debate against DeSantis on conservative Fox News adds to his efforts to cement his national image as a fighter for democratic values ​​who is unafraid to go to war on the right for America’s future .

Governor Newsom

has launched his own campaign to rally support for Democratic candidates and lash out against what he denounces as a fundamentalist, draconian Republican agenda.

Newsom has consistently undermined speculation that he could be eyeing a 2024 White House election campaign. Biden has elevated the governor’s role in his own campaign, tapping Newsom as an official surrogate to push back against Republican candidates before and after Wednesday’s Republican debate.

Newsom joined a news conference with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

(D-San Francisco)

on Monday, where he described the difference between the two parties as “daylight and darkness.”

He said the Republican candidates were “in stark contrast to the progress we have all enjoyed over the past half century.”

DeSantis’ communications director, Andrew Romeo, took a shot at the Florida governor’s Democratic rivals in a statement Monday.

“Whether Newsom or Biden is the Democratic nominee in ’24, they both offer the same failed and dangerous ideology for America that got us into this mess,” Romeo said.

DeSantis’ decision to debate another governor could make him look less like a serious candidate in the presidential race, says Mike Madrid, a former political director of the California Republican Party and one of Trump’s most outspoken critics by the parties.

“It’s pure desperation,” Madrid said. “He admits his campaign is in deep, deep trouble.”

A spokesman for the Republican National Committee said the debate would not violate party rules banning unsanctioned primary debates because Newsom is neither a presidential candidate nor a Republican.

While DeSantis has been adroit at raising money, his voter support has eroded, recent polls show. Trump is poised to defeat DeSantis and the rest of the Republican field if his lead in next year’s presidential primaries holds.

Bowing to a debate with Newsom gives DeSantis a chance to revive his national profile and burnish his image as an anti-“woke” Republican fighter, but it’s a high-risk move, Madrid said.

“If you start hitting in politics and don’t throw a knockout punch, you basically lose the match,” Madrid said. “Because otherwise you’ve not only taken someone else up, but you’ve also taken yourself down a few notches, and he doesn’t have to go down anymore.”

The debate will mark the second time this year that Newsom has captured an audience of Fox News viewers and attacked DeSantis.

In an interview with Hannity in June, Newsom challenged the Florida governor by declaring that Trump would clean his clock during the Republican Party’s presidential primaries. During that show, Newsom immediately accepted Hannity’s challenge to face DeSantis.

Newsom has made it his own

staff

mission to draw attention to and combat the far-right policies of the past year, and pushing back on DeSantis has been central to his efforts. A year ago, he began pestering Florida’s governor to agree to a debate.

The governor of California went national

made headlines when he posted a re-election ad in Florida last summer comparing laws in red states and his own state

about abortion, banned books and other topics.

In April, DeSantis signed a bill banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. California’s constitution guarantees the right to abortion, and Newsom has invited women from other states to come for services banned elsewhere.

He has also criticized DeSantis for banning instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida schools, which legislative critics are calling Don’t Say Gay.

Anus

DeSantis went to war against Disney, taking control of government services in the Disney World theme park district

T

The company publicly opposed the law. Newsom first posted a video of himself at Disneyland in Anaheim

-ever

LGBTQ+

Pride night.

Newsom called DeSantis a small, pathetic man and threatened kidnapping charges after DeSantis’ administration helped transport migrants from Texas to California.

Newsom’s political team sent a proposed “Red vs. Blue” debate to Hannity on July 28, saying the governor welcomed a discussion about how “Democratic policies deliver real results for the American people.”

DeSantis accepted the debate challenge in an interview with Hannity, but the two sides disagree over whether to allow an audience into the live studio and whether to include pre-recorded or in-person opening statements. The announcement of the debate on Monday briefly touched on logistical details.

“I look forward to providing viewers with an informative debate on the everyday issues and governance philosophies that impact the lives of every American,” Hannity said in a statement.

Times staff writer Noah Bierman contributed to this report.