He invites Biden to stay in Florida on his dime
On November 2, Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis appeared on Fox News alongside Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin discussing their respective campaigns.
During that interview, DeSantis addressed the impact of President Biden campaigning in Florida on behalf of Democrat Charlie Crist. His remarks were far from complimentary, implying that through his campaign efforts, President Biden was actually benefitting Ron DeSantis and the Republican party.
His comments were cutting, and sarcastic in their tone:
“I think it's an in-kind contribution to my campaign. I just want to make the offer public: we will underwrite him to stay in Florida for the rest of the campaign.”
Following the Biden/Crist rally in Fort Lauderdale on November 1, DeSantis responded to the effects of Biden's road trip.
Is the election over already?
As the campaigning for mid-term elections draws to a close, it seems like the result in Florida's gubernatorial race may be a foregone conclusion in Ron DeSantis' favor. At this point, incumbent Republican Ron DeSantis leads Charlie Crist by over 10% in most polls - a turnaround from just a month ago when the margin between the two was closer to 5%.
On October 31 the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia evaluated that Florida's predicted gubernatorial election result had moved from 'Likely Republican' to 'Safe Republican' suggesting that the battle is all but over already.
Biden harming the Democratic party cause?
While Governor DeSantis may have intended to be sarcastic in his response on Fox News, there seems little doubt that various remarks from President Biden have been helpful to his cause of late.
When the president visited Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian - he offered positive remarks about DeSantis and his handling of the crisis, stating that:
"What the governor has done is pretty remarkable so far."
Since then, the Republican campaign within Florida has gained momentum and DeSantis' grip on another term has strengthened. In October it was reported that an additional 540,000 Republican voters have registered in Florida since the 2018 election, compared to a net-loss of 9,000 registered Democrats.
While Governor DeSantis' remarks may seem somewhat flippant then, it's easy to see why he may feel at this point that President Biden's impacts upon his campaign are little to worry about. Time will tell if he gets the result he seems to expect.
Do you think that Florida's gubernatorial election result is pretty much decided? Does Charlie Crist still stand a chance of winning? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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