According to four sources in the DeSantis camp — one who witnessed the moment in the room and three others who were standing backstage (where there was no press or live studio audience) — Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, came into the debate room on at least two occasions to raise some objections.

She also made her way to the stage during the break after the candidates agreed to extend the debate and put an end to it.

A fifth source on the ground, unaffiliated with either campaign, confirmed that Siebel Newsom ended the debate on her husband’s behalf, saying, “We’re done.”

“Gavin Newsom got beat so badly last night his wife literally had to throw in the towel for him. It was embarrassing,” DeSantis spokesman Andrew Romeo said.

(via NRO)

[Newsom’s team is denying this, but they did confirm that Siebel Newsom got angry when DeSantis brought up her parents’ decision to relocate to Florida. I’m surprised that Newsom wasn’t better prepared for that, since it made news at the time and DeSantis has used the story to good effect on the campaign trail. At any rate, we’ll see how true this turns out to be, but … it’s pretty delicious to consider. — Ed]