Ron DeSantis managed to be the star of the past midterms. According to a Harvard CAPS-Harris poll, the Florida governor was the winner of the last elections with 15%, followed by Joe Biden (12%) and Donald Trump (8%). With his policies and his speech, he managed to convince Florida voters and turn the state into one of the Republican strongholds for the coming years. His policy focused on freedom and a cultural war on progressive media. He proved he can run a solid, competent, and effective government. He firmly rejects the woke movement and he leads with a traditional discourse and image.
Four years ago, DeSantis won the midterms by less than a point. The re-elected governor of the Sunshine State won a landslide victory, with a difference of more than 1.5 million votes +/-19% over his rival Charlie Crist. He managed to paint the map of Florida red. Only five of the 67 counties that make up Florida's administrative organization trusted the Democratic candidate over DeSantis. His electoral success was so great that he won over the voters of Miami-Dade, a county which has historically gone to the Democratic Party.
"...And we even won the state house seat that includes Miami Beach, not typically viewed as a Republican stronghold." - @RonDeSantisFL 🚨‼️ pic.twitter.com/h0IDAnuoeu
- DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) November 20, 2022
Strong opposition to woke activism
His resounding victory was achieved thanks to his strong opposition to Wokism. Through his push for the Stop WOKE Act, he stood up to the critical race theory that was trying to hold sway in the schools and state corporations. Florida stopped this activism with a majority endorsement from DeSantis.
After learning the results of the midterms, DeSantis said that Florida is where the woke doctrine will end:
DeSantis: "We have embraced freedom. We have maintained law and order. We have protected the rights of parents. We have respected our taxpayers, and we reject woke ideology...We will never surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die!"pic.twitter.com/O59Og21fpd
- Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 9, 2022
The Sunshine State, the economic powerhouse
Florida is a reflection of how to combat high inflation and the recession that is haunting the United States. DeSantis‘ economic management has resulted in the state's labor force growing month-over-month and the unemployment rate not exceeding 3%.
The reelected governor was also able to quickly repair the damage caused by natural disasters. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, which caused at least 100 deaths, DeSantis announced an economic plan to alleviate the consequences.
Gov. DeSantis Awards $8.7 Million for Hurricane Ian Recovery https://t.co/eOXx48BBWE
- Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) November 16, 2022
Since he has been governor of Florida, tourism has not stopped growing. So far this year, nearly 105 million people traveled to the state, or 15.6% more than in 2021.
Florida has welcomed 104.5 million travelers to our state so far this year - up 4.1% compared to 2019 and 15.3% more than in 2021.
Happy that Florida continues to lead the way.
- Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) November 19, 2022
Culture war on the left
Ron DeSantis had to take on the progressive media. On several occasions, he took to social media to contradict misleading reports about his actions or measures.
During Hurricane Ian, he accused the leftist press of "wanting to use storms and storm destruction as a way to advance their agenda." On another occasion, he singled out a CNN reporter for wanting to "push a misleading narrative about the evacuation in Lee County" following the natural disaster.
These are some of the examples that show his opposition to the leftist media for trying to spread lies about his administration.
Family
DeSantis had one major supporter on the campaign trail: his family. His wife Casey accompanied him to several rallies and, on other occasions, the couple could be seen together with their three children. In addition, the Florida governor has a picture of his family posted on his Twitter profile.
After Election Day on November 9, Casey DeSantis was proud of her husband for his resounding victory in the midterms:
Congratulations Governor on a historic win for the ages, we are so proud of you! pic.twitter.com/UkY0v14ZN6
- Casey DeSantis (@CaseyDeSantis) November 9, 2022
Megadonors flee Trump and support DeSantis
At the time this article was published, Ron DeSantis has not confirmed whether he will run in a hypothetical Republican Party primary for the 2024 presidential election, although all indications are that he will face Donald Trump and other potential challengers. Several mega-donors of the Republican Party have already expressed their support for his possible candidacy to the detriment of the Donald Trump for the next presidential election.
One of the biggest GOP donors who will support the Florida governor's potential candidacy is Ken Griffin. The Citadel CEO contributed around $5 million to DeSantis' campaign for the midterms and claimed he is "their candidate" for the 2024 election.
