DeSantis is Not Trump, but he is a First Look at His Campaign for a Democratic Reionization of the Civil Rights Movement
In March, he signed legislation prohibiting classroom instruction and discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity in some elementary school grades, a law that opponents derided as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. It also put him squarely in the middle of the culture-war debate over transgender rights, a theme he has continued to address. In a debate last night against his Democratic challenger, former Gov. Charlie Crist, DeSantis gave a graphic and inaccurate description of gender-affirming care for transgender children, suggesting falsely that doctors were “mutilating” minors.
Last month, DeSantis prompted liberal condemnation and conservative applause when he sent two chartered planeloads of undocumented migrants from Texas — hundreds of miles from the Florida state line — to Martha’s Vineyard, the moneyed Massachusetts vacation spot frequented by celebrities and former Democratic presidents. It was an idea that Stephen Miller, a Trump policy adviser, had pursued while working in the White House, but that others in the administration rejected.
On the campaign trail, DeSantis doesn’t talk about Trump, but his remarks are peppered with frequent mentions of President Joe Biden in a preview of what a presidential campaign against the incumbent Democrat might look like.
Youngkin presents what some strategists think is the most politically viable national model for Republicans in a post-Trump era. He does not share Trump’s fiery style, packaging himself as a fleece-vest-wearing suburbanite who can keep Trump’s coalition intact while picking up a significant share of the suburban voters that determine elections in his home state. While he was campaigning, Youngkin liked to say he could bring together “forever Trumpers and never Trumpers.”
But on policy, he has embraced many of the issues that rally the base. He has called for a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, prohibited the teaching of critical race theory, restricted transgender students’ rights and expressed anger over pandemic lockdowns. He acknowledges Biden won the election, but has supported election deniers such as Lake.
Youngkin has insisted that he is not yet thinking about a presidential run in 2024. But his carefully crafted national profile — as well as his meetings with megadonors in New York City — hints otherwise.
Pre-election campaign of Ron DeSantis and he’ll be in Miami-Dade, where he will campaign against democrat Charlie Crist
The Republican candidate for governor, Ron DeSantis, is campaigning in other states for other candidates, but is in the middle of his final days against Democrat Charlie Crist. There were 13 events for his campaign between Friday and Monday. On the final day, DeSantis has a stop planned in Trump’s adopted home county of Palm Beach and in Miami-Dade not far from Trump’s Sunday event.
The third stop of the former president’s tour will be in Miami, where he’ll welcome his followers, and they will be able to support him. Governor Rick Scott is organizing his own events in three counties on the opposite coast, steering clear of Trump as he seeks to close out his second term.
One Republican official who asked not to be named said the two politicians in Florida were at the center of the spear for the GOP. “They both command attention but they both have their own political operations and that’s what you’re seeing. It’s already exhausting to talk about.”
DeSantis recently endorsed Republican businessman and Colorado Senate candidate Joe O’Dea, as O’Dea vowed in October to “actively campaign” against Trump.
Trump showed a clip of Megyn Kelly, a former host of Fox News, predicting GOP voters would stay in Trump’s camp if he ran in the presidential primary. CNN is reporting that Trump could start his bid as soon as this month.
The first of three events on Sunday was not attended by Trump nor the Ron DeSanctimonious nickname, as he chose to focus on Joe Biden and the so called “whipped” left.
A campaign ad states that he was created by God to fight for Florida, and that he stood up against medical experts who criticized the state’s decision to reopen the state after a vaccine scare.
Both candidates could find themselves on the same financial footing if they compete head-to-head in a primary. There is $90 million in potential seed money for a Super PAC, as well as $200 million raised through his two political committees. At the end of October, Trump was sitting on about $117 million between his three active fundraising vehicles, according to federal election data.
Trump’s pre-election travel is motivated at least in part by his desire to launch a third campaign for the White House, CNN reported this week. During his visit to Iowa on Thursday, Donald Trump told voters that they should prepare for his return as a presidential candidate. Trump stopped in Pennsylvania on Saturday – home to the tight Senate race between his endorsee, Republican Mehmet Oz, and Democrat John Fetterman – and he’ll spend election eve in Ohio, where the former president endorsed Republican J.D. Vance in the Senate race against Democrat Tim Ryan.
Republicans are optimistic that they will carry the once Democratic stronghold of Miami-dade County for the first time in two decades. Investments by Republicans to make inroads in the area’s Hispanic neighborhoods have paid off in recent elections, and the party is seeing a wave of enthusiasm that is turning the state a deeper shade of red. Republicans will hold an advantage in voter registration on Election Day for the first time in Florida’s modern political history.
“President Trump delivered a historic red wave in Florida in the 2018 midterms with his slate of endorsed candidates up and down the ballot and molded the Sunshine State into the MAGA stronghold it is today,” the announcement from Trump’s Save America PAC said. “Thanks to President Trump, Florida is no longer a purple state; it’s an America First Red State.”
“Biden touches it and turns into something much worse than (gold),” DeSantis said. It is frustrating and a lot of people think the country has seen its best days. They think that we’re clearly on the wrong track. I think that Florida provides the basis for other states to follow.