Los Angeles Times

Fox News debate with DeSantis puts Newsom on the defensive

Ron DeSantis speaks to members of the media in the spin room following the third Republican presidential primary debate, at the Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, on Nov. 8, 2023.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis turned their feud over blue and red state policies personal Thursday, clashing for more than 90 minutes over crime, taxes, COVID-19 pandemic policies, immigration, book bans and other divisive issues in an unorthodox debate that both men hoped would propel their national political ambitions.

California has “failed because of his leftist ideology,” DeSantis said of Newsom, whom he called a “slick politician.”

“There’s one thing ... that we have in common,” Newsom said. “Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.”

The forum in Georgia between the liberal Democrat and the conservative Republican, hosted by culminated months of shadow boxing between the two governors, who have used their states’ opposing

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