In 2018, Ron DeSantis was elected as Florida governor with a cry of distress. 0.4 percentage points separated him from his opponent. Four years later, DeSantis makes a sudden choice. 19.4 percentage points is the distance to his opponent Charlie Crist. Florida, which used to be a swing state, has turned fiery red. While we’re still waiting on the results from Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada, it’s a pretty disappointing midterm election for Republicans. This is where the story of DeSantis stands out, says USA expert Jan Arild Snoen. Jan Arild Snoen is a journalist and columnist in Minerva, and follows American politics closely. Photo: Philippe Bédos Ulvin / news – Now many people are starting to think about what happens after Trump, he says. Snoen is among several who point to the 44-year-old war veteran DeSantis as a possible new leader for the Republicans. – The biggest winner of the midterm elections was without a doubt Governor Ron DeSantis. His fall election in the state of Florida was fantastic, writes commentator Liz Peek in Fox News. The New York Post newspaper has already renamed DeSantis “DeFuture” (“DeFremtid”). Tsunami and wave splash In the run-up to the election, many expected that the Republicans would make a very good mid-term election. The party without the president tends to do well in mid-term elections. In addition, President Biden is unpopular, and the economy is doing badly. But in most of the country, the predicted red wave turned into a rather modest splash, comments Jan Arild Snoen. Supporters of Ron DeSantis wave Cuban flags during election vigil in Tampa. Photo: GIORGIO VIERA / AFP One of the right’s only bright spots is DeSantis’ overwhelming victory. – In Florida it wasn’t just a wave, it was a tsunami. When DeSantis wins with almost 20 per cent in a place where Trump won with 3 per cent in 2020 and one per cent in 2016, it is quite violent, emphasizes Snoen. – This means that DeSantis has influence in almost all voter groups. He also appears to be taking the entire Florida Republican Party with him. Many on the republican side hope that he will now do it nationally, says Snoen. Who is Ron DeSantis? Photo: Lynne Sladky / AP Ron DeSantis, born September 14, 1978 (age 44) in Jacksonville Florida. Of 100 percent Italian ancestry over four generations. Studied history at Yale and law at Harvard. Served as an officer and attorney for the US Armed Forces from 2004 to 2010. Was sent to both Guantanamo Bay and Iraq. Elected as a Republican representative to Congress in 2012 from Florida’s 6th district, where he became chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security. Was elected governor of Florida in 2018, with a lot of help from then-President Donald Trump. Re-elected as governor with over 19 percentage points lead over opponent Charlie Crist. Ron De Santis received a lot of support from Donald Trump when he first ran for governor in Florida in 2018. Now the two are rivals. Photo: Chris O’Meara / AP Trumpism without Trump? In the last four years, DeSantis has gone from being relatively unknown to becoming an important player at the national level in the United States. He has done this by distinguishing himself in many of the same cases as Trump. – His handling of covid has probably been important here. There, he has chosen not to close down so much and not to make vaccination compulsory. He has earned it, explains Snoen. – In addition, he has distinguished himself in this culture war that is being talked about in the USA. It’s about race, American history, what should be taught in school, the trans identity debate, and so on. There, he has clearly distinguished himself on the conservative side, and it has considerable impact. Governor Ron DeSantis received much praise for rebuilding Florida after the devastating Hurricane Ian. Here he is visiting a hard-hit area with his wife Casey and President Joe Biden and his wife Jill. Photo: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / Reuters But DeSantis is no Trump copycat. – Where Trump is more concerned with being on TV and giving speeches, it is perceived that DeSantis is concerned with running his state. People in Florida are reasonably happy with it, says Snoen. He says Trump is the big loser in the midterm elections. – There are several elections in the important states where the Republicans should have won the senator, which they are now losing because of Trump, points out Snoen. – It is therefore because of Trump that they do not have control in the Senate. That is my interpretation, and there are some in the party who are beginning to think that way too. And then it is easier to get into what I call Trumpism without Trump, says the US expert.
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Fox News crowns Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the new leader of the Republicans – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
