Govs. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Gavin Newsom‘s (D-CA) red vs. blue state debate battle royale promised to deliver political fireworks, and it was like the Fourth of July.
The debate, televised without an audience and slower in pace than its 2024 Republican counterparts, allowed DeSantis to differentiate himself from his primary opponents and Newsom to introduce himself to a general election audience should he run for president in the future.
DeSantis has improved in the Republican primary debates over the course of his campaign and had a strong performance against Newsom.