(Miami) Republican Ron DeSantis, potential rival of Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination of 2024, was re-elected governor of Florida on Tuesday with a very comfortable lead.
Posted yesterday at 10:23 p.m.
Rising star of the hard right, this 40-year-old won without surprise or difficulty against ex-governor Charlie Crist, a former Republican who had changed parties.
“We not only won re-election, we redefined the political map,” rejoiced Ron DeSantis on Tuesday evening, after the announcement of the results.
“For me, the fight has only just begun,” added the man to whom presidential ambitions are attributed, which he has not yet confirmed.
Republicans scored another victory in the key state on Tuesday, with Sen. Marco Rubio retaining his seat.
Florida thus seems to confirm its Republican roots, bad news for Democrats as the 2024 election approaches.
Ron DeSantis, still little known to the general public a few years ago, has become one of the heavyweights of the Republican Party.
He recently caused controversy by claiming to send migrant planes to Martha’s Vineyard, a crested island in the northeast of the United States.
He had thus joined a movement launched by the Republican governors of Texas and Arizona aimed at sending migrants to Democratic cities in the north and east of the country, a very political gesture intended to seduce their voters.
Very committed to education, the Republican also signed a law this year prohibiting the teaching of subjects related to sexual orientation or gender identity in primary school.
The text, very controversial, was nicknamed by its opponents “Don’t say gay” (“Don’t talk about gays”).
A former military man with the slick image of a family man, he offers a stark contrast to the tempestuous style of former President Donald Trump, who recently nicknamed him “Ron-la-Morale”.
The real estate magnate had however given him a major boost in the race for the seat of governor in 2018, by giving him his support.
The rivalry between the two Republicans recently escalated. Last weekend, the two campaigned in Florida, but were careful to avoid each other by attending separate events.
If Ron DeSantis chose to run for the nomination, “I think he would make a mistake,” Donald Trump said on Monday.
“I don’t think the base would appreciate it. I don’t think it would be good for the party,” he said.