TAMPA, Fla.—There are 67 county sheriffs across Florida, and 60 of them have endorsed Gov. Ron DeSantis for president of the United States.
Mr. DeSantis marked that rating at a campaign event in Tampa on Oct. 5, appearing with State Attorney General Ashley Moody and several of those Florida sheriffs.
“Sixty Florida sheriffs all understand that Gov. DeSantis has been the backbone of ‘back the blue’,” said Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey.
“When we go for sheriffs’ conferences, you can’t get 60 sheriffs to agree on anything—not even where we’re going to lunch.
“But 60 of us stand united behind this governor. Sixty of us also understand that we need him to fix the crime problem plaguing our nation,” Sheriff Ivey said.
“When you’ve got a law-and-order president in the White House, it means that everything else good about our country is hitting on all eight cylinders, and the mission is getting done,” Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast told The Epoch Times.
“We need a president that backs up the Constitution. We also need a statesman in Washington, D.C., who takes care of business.
“Not only for the domestic issues, but also for international issues, where the United States shows itself to be the true leader of every nation in the world, not just the free world, but among all the nations in the world.
“And Gov. DeSantis as our next president. He’s the guy that’s going to do that for us every single time.”
The Florida governor has continued to claim the title of the “law and order candidate.”
In front of a small but passionate crowd, he repeated that his state’s crime levels are at a 50-year low and that he has removed two state attorneys for failing to prosecute criminals.
The Tampa-based audience erupted in cheers, being reminded specifically of the firing of George Soros-backed Hillsborough County state attorney Andrew Warren.
“We’re not going to let people be victimized to no end by people that have a political agenda,” he said.
Mr. DeSantis also led efforts to make the Sunshine State more attractive to present and future law enforcement officers across the country.
The state now offers a $5,000 signing bonus for new in-state recruits and for out-of-state law enforcement officers looking to relocate.
“People have come from Baltimore, New York City, Chicago, all these places,” he said. “They come in and, I don’t know, maybe the sheriffs can correct me, maybe some of the police chiefs around the state can correct me, but I’ve not met anybody who regrets the move so far.”
But while the governor celebrated what he saw as Florida’s success in avoiding the decline seen elsewhere, he reaffirmed his desire to take the Florida model of law enforcement to the national level.
“Whether you live in a red state, whether you live in a blue city, whether you live in a blue state, it shouldn’t matter,” he said.
“The people who commit crimes must be brought to justice. They must be, as every American has the right to be able to work hard and raise their kids in peace with stability, and with law and order.
“And we’re going to make sure, from sea to shining sea, that the rule of law once again prevails in this country.”
Mr. DeSantis is scheduled to return to Iowa from Oct. 7, through Oct. 9, with his PAC “Never Back Down.”
