California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday pledged to serve a full four-year term if up for re-election in November, again trying to dispel speculation that he wants to replace Democrat Joe Biden in the election if he does not seek a second term.

Newsom made a promise during hour long debate with his Republican challenger, state Sen. Brian Dahl, the only time the two candidates will face off before voting closes on Nov. 8.

Newsom is expected to easily win re-election in November, more than a year after fending off a recall attempt fueled by anger over his pandemic policies — which included the nation’s first stay-at-home order. He barely campaigned in California this year, instead spending money on ads for Republican leaders in Florida and Texas — potential presidential rivals.

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“Everyday Californians understand what’s going on here in California, and the governor is focused on running for president,” Dale said during the debate, which aired live on KQED News radio. The debate will air Sunday night on KQED Public Television.

Asked directly by co-moderator Marissa Lagos if he would commit to serving the full four years if re-elected, Newsom said yes. Newsom defended his national campaign, saying he “barely” left the state to take on national Republican leaders who he said are book ban and “humiliation” of the LGBT community.

“This is a major moment in American history,” Newsom said. “I am enough. So I will stand up with pride and joy.”

The debate largely followed a stream of policy messages from the nation’s two major political parties, with Newsom focusing on climate change and abortion rights, while Dahl focused on the economy, particularly the high cost of living in California, including gasoline that has soared to $2.60 higher than the national average.

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Further, a farmer from the northwest corner of California who also owns a trucking business said it costs $200 a day to fill his trucks with diesel fuel – a cost he says has driven up food prices. He said California should have used its record budget surplus to suspend the state’s gas tax, which he said would be a $1,700 discount to taxpayers.

“He’s out of touch with ordinary, hard-working, middle-class Californians,” Dahle said. “Yes, he and his friends can afford a $70,000 Tesla, but Californians as a whole have no choice but to suffer through the policies Gavin Newsom has proposed.”

Newsom pushed back, noting that he has signed legislation that has returned billions of dollars to taxpayers since the pandemic began, with the latest round of cash landing in taxpayer bank accounts this month. That’s far better than suspending the state gas tax, Newsom said, because there would be no way to guarantee that oil companies would pass on the savings to drivers.

He blamed Dahle for voting against those rebates in the state legislature. Records show Dale voted in favor of the bill providing the tax breaks, but he voted against the broader budget bill that provides the money to pay for them.

Regarding abortion, Dahle said he would allocate $20 million from the state budget to help pay for out-of-state women to come to California for the procedure. But he said he would leave money for “reproductive care” in the budget, without specifying what that meant.

He criticized Newsom for supporting Proposition 1, a measure on the ballot this year that would enshrine abortion rights in the California Constitution. Dale said the amendment, if passed, would make abortions legal “one minute before birth.”

Newsom said he would not “apologize for standing up for women and girls across the country.”

“My opponent believes that a 10-year-old girl who was raped by her father should be forced to give birth to a sibling,” Newsom said. “His position is extreme.”

There were no surprises as both men remained in the positions they held throughout their long political careers. Newsom defended his and his wife’s decision to send their children to the private school, saying the school focuses on “creativity and critical thinking and the things we promote in our public education system.”

Dale said his two sons went to public schools, but says his daughter is in a private school “because you and I both know that the best education is a private education because our schools are not working.”

It sparked a heated debate about education policy, with Dale saying Newsom couldn’t blame Republicans because they “have not controlled California for the last 10 years.”

“I blame you for not having a single creative idea, except for the ones that people like Betsy DeVos have pushed,” Newsom said, referring to former President Donald Trump’s education secretary.

The debate is likely to be the culmination of Dahl’s campaign. It has raised less than $1 million, not enough to run television ads in the nation’s most populous state, home to some of the country’s most expensive media markets.

“Every day we’re trying to get people to know who I am,” Dahle said, adding that he plans to drive the truck across the state holding rallies leading up to Election Day.