(UPI) — Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California have agreed to a televised debate in November, Fox News announced Monday.
The 90-minute debate between the coastal red and blue state governors will be held in Georgia and moderated by Fox News host Sean Hannity. The debate will air during Hannity’s prime-time program on Nov. 30.
“It’s happening,” Hannity wrote Monday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, announcing the debate.
“I’m looking forward to providing viewers with an informative debate about everyday issues and governing philosophies that impact the lives of every American,” Hannity said in a statement Monday.
Newsom challenged DeSantis to the debate last year, after the Florida governor sent dozens of Venezuelan asylum seekers to Martha’s Vineyard. The move prompted a number of other Republican southern border state governors to also send migrants to Democratic strongholds.
“Hey, Gov. Ron DeSantis, clearly you’re struggling, distracted, and busy playing politics with people’s lives,” Newsom said in a Sept. 2022 post.
“Since you have only one overriding need — attention — let’s take this up and debate. I’ll bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray. Name the time before Election Day,” Newsom wrote in the post on X.
Newsom, who has said he will not challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, will attend Wednesday’s second Republican presidential primary debate in California.
DeSantis is currently running second to former President Donald Trump in the race for the GOP nomination.