Here’s what the numbers say about Florida and California when it comes to COVID deaths, state economies and the pandemic’s educational impacts on students.
Two governors who both propelled themselves onto the national stage with their COVID responses will go head-to-head on Thursday night.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, and California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is not running for the White House, will take the debate stage at 9 p.m. ET. The pandemic is largely expected to be a point of discussion during the 90-minute event, which will be aired on Fox News and moderated by anchor Sean Hannity.
DeSantis and Newsom represented opposite ends of COVID approaches, with the former portraying himself as a defender of individual rights who never issued a mask mandate in the Sunshine State and the latter being the first governor in the country to order residents to shelter in place. While Florida lifted most restrictions by fall 2020, California did not fully reopen until June 2021, almost 15 months after the initial shutdown.
Both governors received praise and criticism for their handling of the pandemic. While his critics argued that his policies sidelined public health, DeSantis was also applauded for pushing back on government overreach and allowing businesses to operate as normal. And though Newsom was celebrated by some as being proactive, he faced significant backlash that led to a recall attempt in 2021, which he went onto win when more than six-in-10 Californians voted to keep him in office.
Here’s a by-the-numbers breakdown of how each man responded to the virus:
Although California recorded more cases, hospitalizations and deaths in total than Florida, residents in Florida were more likely to test positive, be hospitalized or die from COVID-19 than those living in California.
