Fact-Checking the Ron DeSantis-Gavin Newsom Debate
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) slung no shortage of claims at Thursday's "red state vs. blue state" debate. Here's what the fact-checkers said.
California to Florida Migration: Newsom said that per capita, more Floridians are moving to California than vice versa. According to the Sacramento Bee (Lean Left bias), "37,464 people left California for Florida in 2021, while 24,692 headed this way." According to research on the per capita numbers from Penn State University, "1.16 per 1,000 Floridians moved to California in 2021 and 0.96 Californians moved to Florida that year."
Book Bans: "One thousand four hundred and six books have been banned just last year under Ron DeSantis’ leadership," said Newsom, which DeSantis said was false. Newsom's number was based on tracking from PEN America, which counts a "book ban" as any time a book is removed or restricted, either temporarily or permanently.
Education Quality: DeSantis said California has "one of the lowest literacy rates in the country." According to the Education Department, California has the sixth-lowest literacy score of any state, while Florida has the ninth-lowest score.
Crime: Hannity displayed data showing that California has 499.5 violent crimes per 100,000 people, while Florida has 258.9 per 100,000. Newsom then said Florida "has a 66% higher gun death rate than the state of California." In 2020, Florida’s gun death rate was 14.1 per 100,000 people, while California's was 9.0 per 100,000.
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Newsom debated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on the Fox News Channel in a much-anticipated matchup. Host Sean Hannity asked the governors to explain why there is net migration from “blue” Democratic states to “red” Republican states. Newsom then claimed that over the past two years, there has been net migration from...
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