After winning re-election by the widest margin in a Florida governor’s race in 40 years, Gov. Ron DeSantis will be sworn-in Tuesday for a second term widely viewed as a platform for his expected White House bid.
“It's all worked out for him,” Ballard said of DeSantis, who enters the new year with polls showing him the leading rival to former President Trump for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
First elected as Florida’s youngest governor in more than a century, DeSantis has evolved since he stood outside the Old Capitol in 2019 and pledged to “overcome the tribalism that has dominated our politics.” Helped along by judicial retirements, DeSantis has appointed a majority of the Florida Supreme Court, which is now a right-leaning, seven-member panel where membership in the conservative Federalist Society appears to be a prerequisite.
Just before Christmas, DeSantis set his sights on his latest battleground when the state Supreme Court approved his request for a statewide grand jury to investigate what he’s termed “wrongdoing” with COVID-19 vaccines. “Candidates have to be able to speak to the bases of their parties in order to win,” said Kevin Wagner, a Florida Atlantic University political scientist. “If you assume he’s positioning himself to run for president, I think he’s going to work hard in this second term to make sure that nobody outflanks him to the right in a Republican presidential primary.
Republicans also have won super-majorities in the state House and Senate, further boosting the odds of smooth sailing for whatever policies he next puts in play.Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has made himself one of the most popular Republicans in the country. And a likely 2024 presidential candidate.Those close to the governor say any formal action toward a presidential run will not happen until the legislative session’s scheduled end in early May.
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