(Reuters) – U.S. Republican presidential contender and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will debate California counterpart Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, for 90 minutes on Nov. 30 on Fox News Channel, the network said in a statement on Monday.
Earlier this year, the two men clashed after Florida acknowledged a role in sending two flights of migrants to California. Newsom, 55, described the 45-year-old DeSantis as a “small, pathetic man” and called for criminal and civil investigations.
DeSantis blames liberal states such as California for policies that he says encourage illegal migration.
Fox News billed the Nov. 30 event as a debate between so-called red and blue states, referring to Republicans and Democrats respectively. The event will be hosted by its commentator Sean Hannity.
“This will mark the first time the two prominent governors will face off in a debate,” Fox News said.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll last month showed DeSantis trailing front-runner Donald Trump by nearly 40 percentage points in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
