The 2024 presidential election is a couple of years away, but you might think it’s this November by watching the news.

And there’s an odd feeling out there that something might happen to change the entire slate of presidential candidates. With Donald Trump facing multiple lawsuits and possible indictment, and with Joe Biden stumbling his way through the presidency, our national gut feeling suggests neither Trump nor Biden might not be on the ticket in two years.

Maybe that’s why we’re seeing the emergence of two powerful state governors who seem to be battling it out for the White House before they’ve officially entered the race. We’re talking about Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom. We know they’re both running for president because there isn’t a day that goes by that one of them isn’t making headlines.

For example, why is DeSantis in Kansas this week instead of back home in Florida?

As Reuters reports: “DeSantis’ stop in America’s heartland was part of a series of events that have taken him to such states as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as he builds a national profile and donor base. His actions have led to speculation that should he win a second term as governor in November, he will quickly pivot to a 2024 bid for the Republican presidential nomination.”

As for Newsom, he’s already challenged DeSantis to a debate in response to the Florida governor’s brilliant decision to share the wonders of illegal immigration with the elites of Martha’s Vineyard.

But if these governors end up facing each other head-to-head in the fall of 2024, their records will certainly be in the national spotlight. That’s bad news for Gavin Newsom. “The governor’s track record during the COVID-19 pandemic could be a liability in a presidential race,” reports The Washington Free Beacon. “Newsom elicited outrage for California’s pandemic measures that shut down businesses and churches.”

It gets worse. This summer, California announced that the sale of gas-powered cars will be banned altogether in 2035. Only days later, Golden State residents were told they couldn’t charge their electric vehicles during certain hours due to strain on the power grid.

Energy is the least of Cali’s problems. The state is as radical as it gets, serving as a sanctuary for anyone who crosses the southern border and offering millions of dollars to pay out-of-state residents to come to California for abortion tourism.

Homelessness, drug abuse, dwindling population, surging illegal immigration, efforts to defund the police, crime, and many other issues will make it hard for Newsom to boast about his record as governor.

On the flip side, though, just about everything’s going right in the Sunshine State. Florida’s thriving economy attracts people from around the country (including California) who find the state’s business climate and low taxes appealing. And during COVID-19, while California and other blue states shut down, Florida stayed open for business. But DeSantis didn’t stop there. He was critical of forced vaccinations and mandatory masking for children, and he fired a Florida scientist for manipulating COVID data.

Elsewhere, DeSantis has become a national leader against the woke agenda. He’s taking on schools that push critical race theory and gender identity movements. He signed the anti-grooming Parental Rights in Education bill despite a national outcry from the Left, even punishing Disney for its opposition.

Despite the dire news coming out of California, though, Newsom would make a formidable candidate because of his immediate appeal to millions of Democrats. He pushes all the buttons to get the progressive Left out to the voting booths. Meanwhile, DeSantis could step right in and carry the MAGA movement forward without all of Trump’s personal and political baggage.

Should DeSantis accept Newsom’s offer to a debate, it might attract a big national audience. But right now, DeSantis seems to have the upper hand.

“If anything,” writes columnist Rick Moran, “Newsom’s challenges to DeSantis only highlight his smaller stature in the political world. He and other Democrats are thrashing about like fish on the dock, trying to find a way to attack DeSantis, to cut him down to size.”

We’re not even past the midterm elections, and the 2024 race is in the news. If it turns out to be a Newsom-DeSantis matchup, our deeply divided nation had better buckle up.