Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida could be “finished” if he doesn’t perform well in a debate with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, a Fox Business panelist said.
DeSantis and Newsom will meet for a televised debate moderated by Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night.
“It’s a big problem. He’s not a good debater, he’s had a rough time debating two weak opponents in each gubernatorial race,” WOR radio host Mark Simone told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow.
Former President Donald Trump leads DeSantis, 61.3% to 13.8%, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls from Nov. 9 to 26, while former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley receives support from 9.9% of respondents.
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“He’s not good at it. In this case, it is a no-brainer, 1000% of the facts are on his side. But he is a bad debater. Newsom is a handsome dashing guy, a great salesman. If he ties or beats DeSantis in the charm category… that’s it, DeSantis is finished,” Simone said.
“Governor DeSantis has done an extraordinary job in the state of Florida,” former Trump administration official Monica Crowley said. “The economy is booming, the out-migration from the northeast and Midwest and west where taxes and regulations are so high, he has welcomed them all, the economy thrived, culturally, socially, economically, you name it, but the style factor is huge. Gavin Newsom is always full of it, Larry, but style tends to trump in formats like this.”
Newsom’s approval rate has dropped from 55% to 44% as he has been hyped by some media commentators as a potential replacement for President Joe Biden in 2024 or as a candidate for president in 2028.
DeSantis defeated Democratic Mayor Andrew Gillum of Tallahassee by 0.41% in 2018 after a recount. He won the 2022 gubernatorial election in a landslide, defeating former Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist, who served as governor from 2007-2011 as a Republican, by over 19%.
“As Democrats ramp up their efforts to replace the historically unpopular and failed Joe Biden as their nominee, Ron DeSantis’ showdown with Gavin Newsom is even more timely,” DeSantis campaign manager James Uthmeier said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “A Newsom presidency would accelerate America’s decline, and November 30th will be the first chance to expose to a national audience just how dangerous his radical ideology would be for the country.”
“Ron DeSantis will take this responsibility seriously and looks forward to sharing the stark contrast between his vision to revive our nation and Newsom’s blueprint for failure,” Uthmeier continued.
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