Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared Sunday on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” with host Maria Bartiromo, and in the course of that interview, proved once again that he is, almost certainly, the country’s best governor. Mr. DeSantis discussed several topics, including Florida’s turning into a Republican state, along with illegal immigration, squatters, and other topics. It bears watching.
Some highlights:
During Governor DeSantis’s terms, Florida has gone from being a nail-biting swing state to a reliably Republican state. Now, it’s important to note that in-migration from failing blue states is partly responsible for this; we can blame Democrat governors for driving the productive (who tend to lean right) out of their states. But Florida has made the Sunshine State a welcoming place for those same people, and for that, Ron DeSantis can take his share of the credit. The governor said:
When I became governor, Florida had never had more registered Republicans than Democrats in state history, and we were close to 300,000 fewer Republicans than Democrats. This is 2018.
Today, we have close to 900,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats. So, you’re talking about a million-plus voter registration shift. And, yes, part of that I think is a response locally, where people are more likely to switch from Democrat to Republican in Florida, nonparty to Republican, then vice versa.
And that’s been an important component of it. But I do think the migration has skewed amongst people who come to Florida, not because they want to change the policies to reflect in Illinois or California, New York, but because they appreciate how Florida has done it different from where they’re coming to. And so I think that’s contributed to this really record thing.
On illegal immigration, DeSantis had some harsh words for the Biden administration. He notes that the federal government has sent over 300,000 “migrants” to Miami but also points out that Florida does not pay illegal immigrants; there are no ID cards issued (at one point, the governor noted that Florida does not allow NGOs to issue ID cards) and that most immigrants landing in Florida are going elsewhere.
Finally, DeSantis pointed out that, unlike other states, squatting has been largely stamped out in Florida due to a new law signed in March. DeSantis said:
If you try to squat in Florida, the homeowner will get rid of you immediately. Now we have legal rights in place, call up the Sheriff, and the Sheriff is mandated to evict the folks who are illegally commandeering the residence and, you know, the State of Florida, we’ve got a lot of Sheriffs who are very strong on law and order. I can tell you this, you go down to places like Polk County, with Sheriff Grady Judd, he’s a friend of mine, I would not want to try to squat in that county, because he’s going to throw you out very quickly. But it’s important for our state to lay down the law because we have a lot of seasonal residents, and it’s not just wealthy people. We’ve got a lot of middle-income retirees, they spend most of the year in Florida but maybe they’ll go to Michigan, or Wisconsin, or New York or even Canada for the summer. How could it be possible, or acceptable, for them to come back from summer and find that someone has moved into their home?
This is the way forward, not just for Republicans but for the United States: Policies that can show measurable success. This is not a matter in which the GOP should be dependent on one person to set the pace; Florida is a good model, but any red-state governor should be able to do the same as DeSantis has in the Sunshine State.
See Related: NBC News Raked Over Coals After ‘Migration’ Hit Piece on Ron DeSantis and Florida Falls Flat
Ron DeSantis makes some good points, although there’s one thing that should be noted about the order of topics: In recent years, Florida has indeed turned red. But Florida’s shift is likely the result of the success of these policies, rather than the policies being the result of Florida’s shifting political majority. And this, unlike, say, California’s impeccably coiffed Governor Gavin Newsom’s disastrous policies, needs to go on the road.
Two thousand and twenty-four clearly wasn’t Ron DeSantis’ year to break out onto the national stage, but we haven’t seen the last of him. He has two more years as governor of Florida, and if the Republican party has any brains to speak of, they will keep him at the forefront for the next few election cycles to come. This year is Trump’s year; Ron DeSantis realized that quickly and reacted with grace, withdrawing and endorsing Trump for the 2024 ticket. Even so, 2028, 2032, or 2036, one of these may well be the year of DeSantis, and if so, the nation will be better for it.
