Thursday’s much-anticipated confrontation between Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom led to sparks flying on the Fox News spectacle. DeSantis took the opportunity to tear into his counterpart over migration between their states.

It is well established that a record number of Californians gave up on the Golden State and resettled in Florida. From 2021 to 2022, census figures showed an estimated 50,701 pulled up roots and made the trek across the nation.

This was not lost on DeSantis, and Newsom could not answer why so many fled for greener pastures. 

The Florida governor and GOP presidential candidate noted that California has incredible natural advantages. As he described it, “you almost have to try to mess California up,” but that’s exactly what Newsom managed to do.

The Democrat became the state’s first governor to lose population, to the point where U-Hauls were nearly impossible to come by.

DeSantis explained this phenomenon as the result of a combination of missteps by Newsom, who is a Democratic presidential candidate in all but name. Chief among them were his radical leftist ideology that included shutting down his population with repressive COVID-19 measures.

Gavin Newsom refuses to admit that California has had a mass migration out of CA to other states.

Newsom: “We’ve already established that more Floridians moved to California!”

DeSantis: “We didn’t establish — you asserted.”#withDeSantis pic.twitter.com/1ST3XZELoZ

— Liberty Belle (@iLibertyBelle) December 1, 2023

Despite the occasional alligator and summertime humidity, Florida has numerous advantages that come with being a state dedicated to preserving freedom.

For example, the Sunshine State is one of only nine in the nation with no state income tax. The Second Amendment is respected, unlike California with its draconian gun control laws, and gas along with other staples are far less expensive. 

DeSantis laid these west coast shortcomings directly at Newsom’s feet during Thursday’s debate.

He described his cross country rival as “very good at spinning these tales. He’s good at being slick and slippery hills, he’ll tell a blizzard of lies to be able to try to mask the failures.”

In what would surely be a national campaign mantra for whoever Newsom might face in the future, DeSantis accused him of wanting to export the “California model” across the country. He added that the U.S. faces a choice between freedom and failure.

In a striking moment, DeSantis noted that some of Newsom’s own family had fled California to move to Florida. People first and foremost care about their families, and their most telling votes are with their feet.