How Ron DeSantis Turned Florida Red—and Why It Will Remain That Way
In 2022, the state famous for deciding the presidential election in 2000 dramatically shifted to the right, catching Democrats and Republicans by surprise. The only person not surprised was Gov. Ron DeSantis, who brought the state from purple to bright red, and he plans to ensure that Florida remains that way.
As a Floridian, I first observed DeSantis while watching his 2019 State of the State address. My response was that the speech was lackluster, and I even told a family member I did not like him because he wasn’t a great public speaker.
However, by mid-2020, my opinion drastically changed. Like many other Floridians, I became a huge DeSantis fan, admiring his incredible leadership skills and stalwart defense of truth and common sense.
DeSantis garnered support by proposing policies that appealed to many Floridians. Recently, he proposed cutting property taxes, something that pleases the majority of those on the Right and Left. This is only one small example of how he has ingratiated himself with the state of Florida.
The most dramatic change in Floridians’ opinions of DeSantis occurred during 2020, when the shift from purple to red picked up traction during the infamous COVID-19 pandemic.
While states across the country shut down, Florida only briefly closed its doors until DeSantis’ patience ran out. He opened the schools back up, got rid of mask mandates, and kept the economy running.
Keeping the state open was not only a moral but a strategic move. Florida welcomed a huge influx of people moving there to avoid the ongoing lockdowns in blue states. In 2021 alone, 674,740 people moved to the Sunshine State.
DeSantis’ stalwart leadership was the main reason he was victorious in the 2022 gubernatorial election. In 2018, when he first ran for office, he won by only 32,463 votes out of 8.2 million total votes cast. Four years later, he won by over 1 million votes.
It wasn’t just the influx of people moving to Florida that resulted in him winning by the largest margin in Florida’s history. While his conservative principles remained constant, his public speaking and overall confidence had improved, and he gained media attention for calling out left-leaning reporters’ biased “gotcha” questions.
In addition, DeSantis stood up for his policies and for the people of Florida by championing parental rights. As the woke mind-virus picked up pace and infiltrated K-12 schools, concerned parents campaigned for a Parental Rights in Education bill, which DeSantis signed into law.
“In Florida, we not only know that parents have a right to be involved, we insist that parents have a right to be involved,” he said.
DeSantis believes parents should have a say in their children’s education and that children shouldn’t be taught about their “gender identity” by a random schoolteacher. His determination to ensure parents were in charge of their children instead of schools won him the favor of many Floridians.
DeSantis doesn’t want Florida to stay red temporarily. He’s endeavored to keep it red—or more accurately, conservative—for years in the future. Swing states, as well as red states, can learn from his exemplary leadership.
Recently, he went on X to warn Floridians of proverbial wolves in sheep’s clothing or, in other words, Democrats who may run as Republicans. Such people will push far-left policies once they are in office. This is a problem seen in many states today. DeSantis doesn’t care if the state merely looks red. He wants it to reflect actual conservative principles and to stand up for common sense and truth.
I witnessed how he woke Floridians up to how conservative policies in action can benefit them and their families. He did that not by focusing on party politics but by focusing on good, commonsense principles that will secure all Floridians a bright future.
