Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he hopes to flip his state to a solid red with his reelection and substantial wins in the coming election.
“I think that after the election, my goal would be, if we win the election really big, people like you who analyze these things are gonna say, 'The days of Florida being a swing state are over.' Florida is a red state, and I think that's because of a lot of what we've done,” he said on The Truth with Lisa Boothe podcast, released on Monday.
Florida has historically been a swing state in presidential elections. President Joe Biden lost to former President Donald Trump in 2020 by 375,000 voters and, in 2016, Trump beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton by just 112,911 votes out of the millions cast.
Former President Barack Obama was the last Democrat to win in the state, prevailing in both the 2008 and 2012 elections.
DeSantis, who has fueled rumors that he is planning to run for president in 2024, has been praised by Republican insiders, party activists and GOP establishment figures for his resistance to COVID-19 mandates, fights against “woke” culture issues like critical race theory and his push to pass a parental rights bill that forbids LGBT discussions in the classroom from kindergarten through third grade.
On the last issue, he has found himself locking horns with none other than the entertainment giant Disney. Disney, which operates huge theme parks in central Florida, took issue with the parental rights bill and barrring of LGBT discussions. DeSantis and lawmakers subsequently stripped Disney of its self-governing status, drawing substantial praise among conservatives distressed by Disney's "woke" values.
“People will have paraphernalia about me in the future, people always bring it up to me and stuff, but you know, I have never done anything along those lines, I've basically just done my job," DeSantis told Boothe. "People just wanna see people that are willing to lead and willing to fight for the people, knowing you're gonna face arrows, knowing you're gonna be able to have to be in the kitchen when it gets hot."
The work he’s done in Florida, he said, is more “legislatively in Florida than almost all these other red states combined.
“We put big win after big win on the board, and they will say that I'm dictating the outcomes, when no, I'm going through the constitutional process to be able to enact really significant legislation. And that's what you should wanna do."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.