Nearly 5 million viewers watched debate between Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom 

The prime-time debate between Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom drew big ratings for Fox News, with an average of 4.75 million viewers tuning into the live broadcast. 

“The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate” in Alpharetta, Ga., moderated by Sean Hannity, was the second most-watched program on linear TV Thursday night, according to Fox News. 

The debate drew 742,000 viewers in the coveted 25-54 age demographic and an additional 706,000 viewers watched an encore presentation of the debate for a combined total of 5,456,0000 viewers and 1,050,000 in the key demographic.

The DeSantis-Newsom showdown was Hannity’s highest telecast of the year, according to Fox News, which outpaced CNN and MSNBC in the time slot by 881% and 263%, respectively. 

Matt Wolking, the strategic communications director of pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down, noted that the debate outdrew three town hall forums featuring former President Donald Trump, including the GOP presidential primary front-runner’s highly anticipated CNN town hall in May.

However, the fiery debate, in which Newsom and DeSantis touted their respective state tax policies, education agenda and crime rates, and discussed national issues related to the economy and immigration, drew far fewer eyeballs than the three GOP primary debates. 

An average of 7.51 million people tuned in to the third GOP primary debate in November on NBC.

The second debate in September, hosted by the Fox Business Network, attracted 9.5 million viewers; and the inaugural debate of the cycle, held in August and hosted by Fox News, drew 12.8 million viewers — making it the most-watched non-sports cable telecast of the year to date and outdrawing ABC, CBS, and NBC combined.

The fourth GOP presidential debate will be held next week in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and will air on NewsNation.