DeSantis Resumes Presidential Campaign After Pausing for Hurricane Idalia

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (2nd L) talks with people before a press conference in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, in Steinhatchee, Fla., on Aug. 31, 2023. Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he would get back on the presidential campaign trail after more than a week of hurricane management.

Mr. DeSantis paused his campaign on Aug. 27, in order to begin preparing his state for the arrival of Hurricane Idalia, canceling a Town Hall he had scheduled in South Carolina on Aug. 28.

He was also scheduled to attend the Faith and Freedom BBQ in Anderson, South Carolina, that night, but had his wife Casey DeSantis attend in his stead.

On Sept. 5, his campaign said he would turn his attention back to his fight for the right to be the Republican challenger for the White House.

Mr. DeSantis will get things started by appearing with Eric Bolling on Newsmax’s The Balance on Sept. 6. On Sept. 7, he will be making appearances on New Hampshire and Iowa radio and then will be conducting television interviews for local affiliate news stations in those states.

He will end the day by appearing on Fox News with Jesse Waters at 8 p.m. (EDT).

The governor will then join America’s Newsroom on Fox News on Sept. 8.

He will also be spending 9/11 with victims of families in New York City. He and Mrs. DeSantis were invited to meet with seven families at Ground Zero to make the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attack.

The governor’s campaign did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for further comment.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at The Gathering at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Atlanta on Aug. 19, 2023. Justin Kase/The Epoch Times.

Hurricane Idalia hit Florida’s Big Bend Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm on Aug. 30, bringing with it intense winds and immense flooding.

A state of emergency was declared in more than 45 counties, and evacuation orders were issued wholly or partially in more than 25 others.

The governor’s proactive response to the forecast and immediate post-impact actions received significant national attention, with many pundits across the mainstream media networks giving positive reviews of his performance.

Republican Candidates Ignore Storm

Meanwhile, his fellow candidates have continued their campaigns as the second presidential debate and primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire get closer.

Providing little commentary on the hurricane emergency, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former governor Chris Christie (R-N.J.), former Vice President Mike Pence, and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley spent days pitching their views on America’s foreign policy and issues such as climate change, and gender ideology.

Former President Donald Trump was the only candidate to comment on Mr. DeSantis’ response directly.

(Left) Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 12, 2023. (Right) Former President Donald Trump arrives at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 12, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Mr. Trump claimed Mr. DeSantis “unnecessarily approved a 20 percent hike in Florida Electricity Rates, the largest in history (by far!), after taking a $9.5 million campaign contribution from ’money machine' Florida Power and Light.”

Before hurricane season began, Mr. Trump was criticizing Florida’s insurance crisis.

“DeSanctimonious is delivering the biggest insurance company bailout in global history. This is a gift to insurance companies and a disaster for the people of Florida,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social in March.

“The worst insurance scam in the entire country with the highest rates in the entire country. That’s Florida.”

However, the Florida governor did not use the opportunity to push his politics against his Republican competitors or President Joe Biden.

“Not my concern,” he said of Mr. Trumps’s comments. “My concern is protecting the people of Florida, being ready to go.”

On putting politics aside to work with Mr. Biden and the federal government, Mr. DeSantis said: “We have to deal with supporting the needs of the people who are in harm’s way or have difficulties, and that is not to triumph over any type of short-term political calculation or any type of positioning.”

The latest polls still show him well behind Mr. Trump among Republican voters.

Mr. DeSantis returns to the campaign trail after his state’s recovery efforts took off at a record pace.

By the evening of Labor Day, on Sept. 4, 96 percent of Florida’s reported power outages—nearly 545,000 accounts—were restored.

Within 48 hours of Idalia’s landfall, all state bridges that closed were reopened.

Hundreds of miles of roads were cleared by Florida’s Department of Transportation and the Florida National Guard.

And housing was able to be provided to some of those who lost their homes.

A lineman works to restore service in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia in Perry, Fla., on Aug. 31, 2023. Sean Rayford/Getty Images

“Restoring power to the homes and businesses of impacted Floridians is an important step in the recovery process and would not be possible without the hard work of our utility linemen,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

“I’m glad to announce that they have been able to restore 96 percent of accounts less than a week after Idalia made landfall.”

Recovery efforts focusing on power restoration, school reopenings, and humanitarian efforts—such as providing food, clean water, and shelter—are still underway by both state and private organizations.

Bill Pan contributed to this report.