Failed California Governor Gavin Newsom is hitting the debate stage tonight against Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. Newsom – continuing his less-than-subtle White House audition – will assuredly come prepared to cherry-pick his favorite stats and paint his time in office as an unquestionable success.

But the numbers don’t lie. Here’s how Newsom’s California actually compares to DeSantis’ Florida: 

FLORIDA VS. CALIFORNIA BY THE NUMBERS 

• Population Movement (2022)
  • California lost over 817,000 (50,701 went to Florida)
  • Florida gained over 416,000
• Congressional Seats (2020 redistricting) 
  • California lost 1 seat 
  • Florida gained 1 seat
• Adjusted Gross Income due to domestic migration (2021 IRS data)
  • California lost $29.1 billion in AGI, more than any other state
  • Florida gained $39.2 billion in AGI, more than any other state ($3.5 billion came from California) 
• U-Haul (2022)
  • California had more trucks leave than any other state for the third year in a row
  • Florida was the second top destination for trucks behind Texas
• Median Home Prices (October 2023)
  • California $840,360
  • Florida $404,100
• Gas prices (11/30/23)
  • Californians are paying $4.85/gallon, the highest in the nation
  • Floridians are paying $3.17/gallon
  • National average is $3.25/gallon
• Income tax
  • California has the highest tax rate in the nation at 13.3% 
  • Florida has no  state income tax
• Violent Crime (2022 FBI stats)
  • California is up 13% 
  • Florida is down 31.5%
• State unemployment rate
  • California ranks 2nd highest
  • Florida ranks 11th lowest
• Percent of Nation’s Homeless Population (HUD Data 2022)
  • California accounts for 30%
  • Florida accounts for 5%
• Change in homeless population size from 2020-2022
  • California increased 6.2%
  • Florida decreased 5.6%
• Education in COVID
  • California was the last state to reopen in-person learning 
  • Florida was one of the first to reopen in-person learning

“Knock it off with the smoke and mirrors, Governor Newsom. California is an unmitigated disaster on your watch, and trying to favorably compare your record to red states that Californians are moving to by the hundreds of thousands is a lost cause. The best thing to come out of tonight’s debate would be if you finally learned a thing or two from a red state governor about how to effectively run a state.” – CAGOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson