Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) gave back better than she got from California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom after he ripped her for mentioning crime during her rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening.

“While @SarahHuckabee touts public safety, here is what she skips over: Arkansas has the one of the highest murder rates in the nation,” Newsom noted in a tweet.

While @SarahHuckabee touts public safety, here is what she skips over:

Arkansas has the one of the highest murder rates in the nation.

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) February 8, 2023

In an appearance with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, the host pointed out that Sanders has only been in office about a month, then asked her to respond. She did by first noting that Americans are fleeing California as fast as they can for a variety of reasons, including high crime.

“By comparison, when you look at Gavin Newsom’s time in public office, his time as San Francisco mayor, lieutenant governor, now governor, Newsom has spent nearly 7,000 days driving California straight into the ground,” Hannity said. “Crime and homelessness are now through the roof. The drug problem in California is out of control. Reports of school children being forced to walk through open-air drug dens. California ranked dead last again in the U-haul index.”

“Let’s not forget, he literally had to run ads begging people to stay in California not that long ago. And every single town I go to in Arkansas, I meet someone who has moved from California,” she said in response. “My message to them is we’re glad you’re here, but don’t forget why you left California. We are proud of our state, and our gates are open for people to come.”

WATCH:

During her rebuttal to Biden, Sanders, who was former President Donald Trump’s second press secretary, noted that his Democratic Party has been hijacked by the “Left-wing culture war” while denouncing the president and his party for being “highjacked by the radical Left.” She also described the differences between Republicans and Democrats as those between normalcy and radicalism.

“In the radical Left’s America, Washington taxes you and lights your hard-earned money on fire. But you get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves, and our children are taught to hate one another on account of their race, but not to love one another or our great country,” she said. “The dividing line in America is no longer between Right or Left. The choice is between normal and crazy.”

Last month after her inauguration, Sanders told Fox News host Shannon Bream she was holding off on a 2024 GOP presidential endorsement.

“I love the president, have a great relationship with him,” Sanders said of Trump, who has declared his candidacy. “I know our country would be infinitely better off if he was in office right now instead of Joe Biden. But right now, my focus isn’t 2024. It’s focusing here in Arkansas and doing what we can to empower the people of this state, and make sure that I’m delivering on the promises that I laid out over the course of the last two years.”