What’s Happening:
Last year, Florida was hit by Hurricane Ian. Hurricanes landing on Florida are a common occurrence. But this storm was marked by an important detail: the governor’s race was just weeks later. Gov. Ron DeSantis was in the middle of his re-election bid, but he hung up his campaign plans for three weeks to address the intense storm. His successful response appeared to light a fuse under Florida voters; he won re-election by over one million votes.
This Spring, DeSantis announced his candidacy for president. He has been polling at 2nd or 3rd place, the closest rival to frontrunner Donald Trump. He has seen increased support after the first GOP debate. But this week, another hurricane landed on Florida’s shores. And the presidential candidate just announced what he is going to do.
From Daily Wire:
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signaled during a press conference this week that he will stay off the campaign trail for as long as it takes to get his state through Hurricane Idalia.
DeSantis arrived back in Tallahassee from Iowa on Saturday to manage the state’s crisis response as the massive storm prepares to hit the Big Bend area of Florida’s west coast.
Gov. DeSantis put his presidential campaign on pause and returned to Florida before Hurricane Idalia made landfall. The Republican vowed to stay in Florida to manage the hurricane response and recovery, for as long as it will take.
DeSantis was praised, even by liberals, for his Hurricane Ian response. Hurricane Idalia is shaping up to be just as devastating of a storm, perhaps worse. It is likely that the governor will spend several weeks coordinating a response for the areas badly hit by the storm.
It remains to be seen how this decision will affect his candidacy. Other candidates are traveling across the country, garnering votes from Republicans. DeSantis will miss crucial time he needs to win voters from other candidates. But that seemed to help him last time when he was re-elected in a landslide.
DeSantis’s actions are in stark contrast to Joe Biden’s Maui wildfire response. Biden was heavily criticized for vacationing at a beach, while the town of Lahaina was ravaged by the fires. The criticism continued when the week following the wildfire, Biden took another vacation to Nevada.
It does not appear as if DeSantis will be taking a vacation any time soon.
Key Takeaways:
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has returned from the campaign trail to lead a hurricane response.
- The Republican vowed to stay in Florida for as long as it takes to provide aid in the storm’s aftermath.
- DeSantis had previously done this in 2022 and won re-election by a landslide.
Source: Daily Wire
