Why Gavin Newsom Is Obsessed With Ron DeSantis

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is a religious Fox News viewer, tuning into prime time programming every night.

That’s where his fixation with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis grew hot. 

And Newsom – who has been one of the lead attack dogs for President Biden and the Democratic Party – is expected to have a chance to get into the ring with DeSantis in a highly anticipated face-to-face debate in November which will air on the conservative cable network. 

Sources familiar with the planning of the debate say the event  is “moving forward,” after reports that it was at an impasse. “It’s not at a standstill,” one source familiar said, with Sean Hannity’s staff at Fox News brokering negotiations including whether the debate will include an audience, something the DeSantis camp wants. 

The high profile debate is something Newsom has been craving for some time. In a tweet last year, the California governor took aim at DeSantis, saying “Since you have only one overriding need – attention – let’s take this up & debate. I’ll bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray.”  So when Hannity proposed the idea of having a debate with the Florida governor during an interview in June, Newsom pounced. 

“Love it,” he told the host during his appearance. “...I’m all in. Count on it.”

By taking his message to the right on Fox News to contrast with DeSantis, Newsom can reach an audience that many Democrats aren’t tapping into as he acts as a lead surrogate for Biden and lays the groundwork for his future political prospects. Many political observers expect that Newsom will run for president in 2028 and he’s working to build his name ID by highlighting his aggressive, in-your-face brand, particularly on the Fox airwaves. 

Last year, as DeSantis’s approval ratings in his state soared, Newsom launched an ad which aired on Fox News programming across the Sunshine State and called out the Florida governor and his policies. “Freedom, it’s under attack in your state,” the ad said. While the ad was viewed by a largely conservative audience, it was effective because it got the attention of Democrats, who were longing for a politician in their party who would go on the offensive against Republicans. 

“It’s the thing we suck the most at, going on offense, taking it to the other side,” said one Democratic strategist. “He’s willing to go there and his fight with DeSantis is proof of that.”

Elizabeth Ashford, a longtime communications strategist in California who worked for two governors in the state, said, Newsom “recognizes that Florida has become a stomping ground for some of the ugliest political instincts in the US” and is rightfully pushing back, she said.  

“I’m too obsessed with it” 

Newsom has acknowledged his infatuation with Fox News. 

“My staff has quite literally tried to have interventions with me about it,” Newsom told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki earlier this year. “They say I’m too obsessed with it. But I need to understand it.” 

“You want to know what the other side thinks,” Psaki replied. 

“I don’t want to know what they think, I want to see the patterns, and what you see are patterns that emerge,” Newsom said.  

Over time, Newsom’s fixation on DeSantis began to pick up steam: He became increasingly irked by DeSantis’s protests of COVID vaccine mandates and book bans among other culture war issues. 

“He saw how DeSantis was weaponizing grievance and demonizing those who were most vulnerable and doing so to further his own political career by taking away people’s rights and calling it freedom,” said one Newsom adviser. “That alarmed the governor.” 

But it isn’t just Newsom launching attacks on DeSantis. 

The Florida governor has repeatedly jabbed his California counterpart including on the campaign trail in recent months. He often rips Newsom for creating a mass exodus among Californians leaving the state for Florida. 

“Why would you leave like a San Diego to come to say Jacksonville, Florida? I see people doing that,” DeSantis said at a stop in Nevada. “It’s because leftist government is destroying the state. Leftist government is destroying cities all over our country.”  

In June, DeSantis also told Newsom to “stop pussyfooting around” and take on Biden in a 2024 primary. 

“Are you going to throw your hat in the ring and challenge Joe?” DeSantis said at a press conference at the time. “Are you going to do it? Or are you going to sit on the sidelines and chirp?”

California Governor Gavin Newsom (L) greets US President Joe Biden during a campaign event at Long Beach City Collage in Long Beach, Calif. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

‘The stakes are higher for DeSantis’

Still, Republican and Democratic strategists acknowledge that even as the negotiations for the debate carry on, Newsom has DeSantis right where he wants him. 

For DeSantis, the debate could help elevate his standing in the 2024 Republican primary, particularly after his campaign has struggled to find its footing and he is a distant second in polls behind former President Donald Trump. 

But it could also cause problems for the Florida governor. 

“The stakes are higher for DeSantis,” one Republican strategist acknowledged. “If this debate blows up, it makes DeSantis look like he needed help from a television audience.  “It’s not a great look for a candidate who hasn’t been able to break through in the primary. 

Tobe Berkovitz, a professor emeritus at Boston University who has worked as a political media consultant, agreed with that assessment. 

“The bonus for Newsom is unlike DeSantis he has almost nothing to lose,” Berkovitz said. “Odds are he won’t have his coiffure messed up by the struggling DeSantis.”