ANALYSIS: Floridians Fear Being Left Behind as DeSantis Reportedly Prepares for 2024

'It was just a way to position himself for the next step in his political career.'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs an anti-crime bill on May 1, 2023 at the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum in Titusville, Fla.. Courtesy of the Florida Governor's Office.

Florida’s governor has just cut ties with a political action committee (PAC) bearing his name. Many Floridians see this as an indication that he’s preparing to abandon Florida for a presidential run.

On May 9, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis severed ties with “Friends of Ron DeSantis,” a major state-level PAC “committed to advancing” the governor’s “Freedom Agenda and keeping Florida free.” According to the website, the new “associated person,” is Florida State Senator Blaise Ingoglia.”

This is seen as a key move by DeSantis in preparing to run for the presidency, as state law (pdf) prohibits the use of money raised by a state-level PAC for a race at the federal level.

Tim Sharp, a “canceled“ Florida House candidate and host of ”The Sharp Response” on Rumble’s Red Voice Media, said, “He’s running.”

“He just wanted to make sure the revision on Resign-to-Run came through,” Sharp told The Epoch Times.

As previously reported by The Epoch Times in November of 2022, Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (R) said that he was open changing state law to enable DeSantis to launch a 2024 presidential run at a press conference.

Florida Statute 99.012— the “Resign-to-Run” law—says that “any officer who qualifies for federal public office must resign from the office.”

However, on April 26, Florida’s legislature passed Senate Bill 7050 (pdf). Buried deep within the 96-page measure is an exception that would allow state officeholders like DeSantis to run for president or vice president without resigning.

Tim Sharp, host of "The Sharp Response" on Rumble's Red Voice Media. Courtesy of Tim Sharp

State Rep. Angela Nixon (D) said, “We in this body are doing the governor’s bidding.”

“He needs to resign to run if he wants to run for president, period,” Nixon chided. “Last time I checked, being governor is a full-time job. Running for president takes a lot of work.”

Rep. Ralph Massullo (R) said, “This isn’t just for our governor; it’s for anyone in politics.”

Sharp says, “Now that the path has been cleared for him by the establishment,” all that’s left is for DeSantis to sign the bill into law.

“Once he does that, he'll announce within 48 hours,” Sharp predicted.

Political Theater

Sharp was critical of the idea that, just after Floridians reelected him as their governor, he would make a run for the White House.

“I think all of the promises he made during his reelection campaign had nothing to do with Floridians. It was just a way to position himself for the next step in his political career,” Sharp posited. “It was all political theater.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Ken Lovejoy, the host of “Charlotte County Speaks” on iHeart Radio.

While Lovejoy told The Epoch Times that he and all of his listeners “love Ron DeSantis” and believe he has “done a great job as governor,” he said, “it’s obvious to anyone who’s been paying attention that he’s been running for president ever since the Mar-A-Lago raid.”

Ken Lovejoy, host of "Charlotte County Speaks" on iHeart Radio. Courtesy of Ken Lovejoy

“I’ve taken a lot of heat for my position on Ron DeSantis because a lot of people here love him so much they’ve already deified him and want him to run,” Lovejoy explicated. “That’s great, and I don’t mind him running for president. But I think it’s the dumbest move he’s made in his political career.”

“He campaigned hard for a second term as governor. But now we all know that, in the back of his mind, he had no intention of filling out that term because in less than a month after he wins reelection, he’s off on a book tour, which is really just a campaign,” Lovejoy said. “Everything he’s done since Mar-A-Lago has shown a lack of authenticity and a lack of ethics. He’s disingenuous.”

While in Japan, a reporter noted that polls show DeSantis is “falling behind Trump.”

“Any thought’s on that?” the reporter asked.

“I’m not a candidate, so we'll see if and when that changes,” DeSantis replied.

A recent CBS News survey shows 58 percent of Americans would vote for Trump in 2024. Only 22 percent chose DeSantis, a staggering spread of 36 percentage points.

The popular betting site, PredictIt, shows Trump with a commanding lead.

As previously reported by The Epoch Times, Tom Bevan of Real Clear Politics finds it interesting how the rating crash by DeSantis appears to coincide with his tour.

“He went on his book tour. He gave a speech at the Reagan Library. He’s been going around the country. He went overseas, and nothing has moved his numbers,” Bevan noted. “If anything, they’ve gotten a tad worse over the last five weeks from 24.6 on our average down to 22.9.”

The Tours

The detachment from “Friends of Ron DeSantis” isn’t the first move that has fueled the fires of speculation that he’s preparing for a presidential bid in 2024.

Just three months after winning his landslide reelection in Florida, DeSantis traveled to New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago to pledge his support for law enforcement.

Days later, he hosted a three-day retreat for his top donors at the Four Seasons hotel in Palm Beach, just four miles away from Mar-A-Lago.

From there, DeSantis launched his book tour, traveling through a string of key primary states, including New Hampshire, Iowa, Ohio, Virginia, Nevada, and Michigan. In April, DeSantis traveled to Israel and Japan. While DeSantis billed it as an “international trade mission,” some said it was a move to establish foreign policy credibility.

John Thomas, a GOP political strategist and the founder of the pro-DeSantis super PAC, “Ron to the Rescue,” told ABC News, “Any major candidate for the Oval Office needs to check that [foreign policy] box and improve their credentials so that they have credibility when they’re delivering their eventual foreign policy message on the campaign trail and on the debate stage, and this is the first step for Gov. DeSantis to do just that.”

Curiously, on May 2, Florida lawmakers approved a bill that would keep the public from having access to the travel records of elected officials like DeSantis. Proponents of the measure say it’s for security purposes. The bill also includes a retroactive clause specific to DeSantis, which would block the release of some travel records for trips already taken by DeSantis.

Another Super PAC, “Never Back Down” (NBD), announced plans to place “dozens of staff in the first 18 states on the Republican presidential primary calendar,” Fox News reported. NBD has also placed about a half-dozen staffers in Iowa, a typical move made by someone preparing for a presidential run. NBD spokesperson Erin Perrine was quoted saying it would put them in a “dominant” position in the four early primary states.

NBD also released what appears to be a campaign ad attacking GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.

Should DeSantis decide to make his campaign official and make a run for the White House, it wouldn’t be the first time he left one office to reach for another.

DeSantis began his political career as a representative of Florida’s 6th District, where he served from 2013 to 2018. During that time, DeSantis missed 4.2 percent of roll call votes, nearly twice the median rate of 2.5 percent. On Sept. 10, 2018, DeSantis sent a letter (pdf) to then-U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, resigning his seat in order to run for governor in Florida, as required by the Resign-to-Run law.

While DeSantis has racked up an impressive list of endorsements in states like Utah, and Michigan, legislators in his home state are considerably less enthusiastic.

According to the endorsement tracker by Axios, DeSantis has the backing of three House members and none in the Senate. Trump has been endorsed by 45 House Republicans and nine Florida senators.

‘It’s Not Okay’

Jessico Bowman of Saint Johns, Florida, says “he should stay put as governor.”

Jessico Bowman at the State Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida, for the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida Lobby Days event, on January 19, 2022. Courtesy of Jessico Bowman

“This is going to damage his political career,” Bowman told The Epoch Times. “As a Floridian, it’s not okay. We just reelected the guy, and now he’s going to leave. I guess he’s too concerned with advancing his own political goals to care about Floridians and all the promises he made to us.”

Jerry Anders of Sarasota says, “I don’t think he’s ready to take on the presidency just yet.”

“Florida loves DeSantis. We don’t want to see him go anywhere,” Anders told The Epoch Times. “But I think he still has a few years to learn the ropes. I don’t think he’s ready. I think he needs to stay.”

Jerry Anders of Sarasota, Florida. Courtesy of Jerry Anders

William Siegenthaler of South Lake County believes, “There are consultants pushing Ron to do this, and Democrats love it because it’s going to divide the base.”

William Siegenthaler of South Lake County, Florida. Courtesy of William Siegenthaller

“It aggravates me that they’re pushing Ron to do this,” Siegenthaler told The Epoch Times. “We all know the book tour was a sham. It’s a stealth campaign. He has people mobilized all over the state. It’s a foregone conclusion, and if someone doesn’t dissuade him from running, he’s going to announce. Everybody knows.”

Former President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Egypt Brown at a private party at Mar-A-Lago, on April 4, 2023. Courtesy of Egypt Brown

Egypt Brown of Delray Beach, Florida, believes DeSantis might make a good potential candidate for president someday. “But he’s better served in Florida.”

“As a Floridian, I believe Governor DeSantis should finish the job he started,” Brown told The Epoch Times. “I love that he’s being aggressive. But you can’t start a war with Disney and just run off. He’s done a great job as Florida’s governor. But President Trump is the president we need.”

Nancy Soares of Punta Gorda shares the same sentiment as Brown.

“I think one day he might be able to run for president. But I don’t think right now is the appropriate time,” Soares told The Epoch Times. “I believe in ‘Promises made. Promises kept,’ and he promised he was going to be our governor. I don’t think the people of Florida or the people of the United States deserve this.”

In closing, Lovejoy shared a final thought on the passage of SB 7050.

“How confident is [DeSantis] in winning the presidency if he has to change state law to allow him to maintain his office as governor while running?”

Sharp agreed, saying, “He’s scared of stepping into the batter’s box, swinging and missing.”

The Epoch Times reached out to DeSantis’ office for comment.

“It is demonstrably false that the governor has not fulfilled his promises,” Bryan Griffin, DeSantis’ press secretary,  told The Epoch Times in a statement. “We have had a press conference nearly every day for the last two weeks and so far in Florida have passed constitutional carry, protected life, banned ESG, reformed higher education, pushed back on Biden’s border crisis, raised teacher pay, banned [central bank digital currency] CBDC, protected medical freedom, banned WHO directives, and prohibited gain of function research—to name only a few. And there is much more to come.”