Florida News

DeSantis and Newsom will go head-to-head in a November Fox News debate moderated by Sean Hannity

WUSF | By Associated Press

Published September 26, 2023 at 1:07 PM CDT

In this combination of photos, Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks on Sept. 16, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa, at left, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, speaks on Sept. 12, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif., at right.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will take time out from debating fellow Republicans in two months to take on a Democrat, California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Fox News said Monday that the two politicians will appear in a 90-minute debate on Nov. 30 in Georgia, at an exact location to be determined.

Besides being closer to DeSantis' home turf, conservative opinion host Sean Hannity will be the moderator, and it is airing on Fox News Channel in Hannity's 9 p.m. Eastern time slot.

The idea has been talked about since June, when Newsom appeared for an interview on Hannity's show.

DeSantis is scheduled to appear in the second debate of Republican candidates for the 2024 presidential nomination later this week, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.

Nathan Click, a spokesman for Newsom, said the California governor agreed to the debate provided there was no cheering section of “hype videos.”

“We want a real debate,” Click said. “Not a circus.”