Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., easily won re-election to his second term on Tuesday — a dominant victory that bolsters his rise as a prominent GOP star with potential White House ambitions.
But DeSantis didn’t just win over Republican and Independent voters.
He has so effectively cut into the Democratic Party demographics that he’s turned Florida from a purple swing state into a deep red state.
In fact, the size of the swing of Hispanic voters from Democrats to Republicans was so huge it made MSNBC hosts gasp when they saw the numbers —
MSNBC panel gasps when they see the numbers out of Miami-Dade County.
DeSantis is up 8 points in Miami-Dade with 60% in. In 2018, he lost it by 20 points. https://t.co/uSOSf3bfWv
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 9, 2022
DeSantis’ win solidifies the rightward shift for what was formerly the nation’s largest swing state, with voters embracing a governor who framed his candidacy as a battle against what he characterized as the “woke agenda” of liberals.
“Well thank you so much, you know, over these past four years, we’ve seen major challenges for the people of our state, for the citizens of the United States, and, above all, for the cause of freedom,” DeSantis said in his victory speech.
“We saw freedom in our very way of life in so many other jurisdictions in this country wither on the vine,” he said “Florida held the line.”
“Florida was a refuge of sanity when the world went mad,” DeSantis continued. “We stood as the citadel of freedom for people across this country and indeed across the world. We faced attacks. We took the hits. We weathered the storms. But we stood our ground. We did not back down. We had the conviction to guide us. And we had the courage to lead.”
“We made promises. We made promises to the people of Florida, and we have delivered on those promises,” he said. “So today, after four years, the people have delivered their verdict: Freedom is here to stay.”
“We chose facts over fear. We chose education over indoctrination. We chose law and order over rioting and disorder,” DeSantis said.
In the lead-up to the election, DeSantis’ willingness to fight the cultural battles, and ability to leverage the power of state government to his will, endeared him to major GOP donors and built him into a natural heir to former President Donald Trump in the minds of some Republican voters.
Election Day came as Florida continued to recover from the Category 4 Hurricane Ian, which slammed into the state in late September and killed more than 100 people and caused widespread damage.
Politically, the storm temporarily muted much of the bitter campaign rhetoric and provided DeSantis a platform to project a unifying tone as a competent crisis manager able to set aside the culture warrior and work with rivals such as Biden on response efforts.
The victory is certain to further speculation of a potential DeSantis presidential run. DeSantis has so far dodged questions on his possible Washington aspirations, skirting the subject repeatedly during his only gubernatorial debate with Crist in late October.
But DeSantis’ popularity and his potential as a 2024 presidential candidate was clearly evident at his victory rally when supporters broke into the chant, “Two more years! Two more years!”
Trump, who credits himself for propelling DeSantis to a first term in the governor’s office, has teased a third presidential run and grown frustrated with DeSantis’ refusal to rule out a 2024 campaign, according to people familiar with Trump’s thinking.
Late Monday, Trump told Fox News that DeSantis could “hurt himself badly” by running for president. Trump suggested he would reveal things about DeSantis “that won’t be very flattering,” while also saying he wasn’t in a “tiff” with the governor.
DeSantis was able to raise substantially more money than Crist, a 66-year-old Democrat who had previously served as a Republican governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011. Crist aimed his candidacy at moderate voters in Florida, criticizing DeSantis as a bully, as he sought to reverse a losing streak for Democrats in the state.
Crist resigned a congressional seat to run for governor this year but was forced to fend off barbs on the campaign trail about various stances held over his decades in Florida politics. In a short concession speech, Crist congratulated DeSantis and thanked supporters, saying his political career has been an “absolute blessing.”
Democrats, the minority party in the state government, faced considerable challenges in a state recently considered to be a perennial political battleground but that has drifted rightward. Trump won the state twice and Republicans have been aggressive in organizing at the local level and made a sustained push on voter registration.
Last year, the GOP notched more registered voters in the state than Democrats for the first time in modern history, and then continued to widen the gap into November.
DeSantis’ win in the reliably blue Miami-Dade County, the first Republican to do so in two decades, was the final blow to Democrats hopes to hold on to the state. The governor thanked the county specifically during his victory speech.
DeSantis’ cabinet will be filled with Republicans after the reelection wins of both Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, and the victory of outgoing Republican Senate President Wilton Simpson as Agriculture Commissioner.
The economy weighed heavily on the minds of Florida voters. Three-quarters of them believe things in the country are heading in the wrong direction, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 3,300 voters in Florida.
A slight majority of voters in Florida approve of DeSantis’ decision to send illegal immigrants to northern Democratic states.
A larger percentage of voters approve of how DeSantis handled hurricane relief in the state — about three-quarters — compared to how President Joe Biden handled things — about 6 in 10.
A majority of Florida voters — almost 6 in 10 — blame inflation and higher than usual prices on President Joe Biden’s policies. A similar share approve of the way DeSantis is handling the job of governor
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article