[ad_1]
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a conference titled Celebrating the Faces of Israel, Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, April 27, 2023.
Maya Allerozzo | AFP | Getty Images
The Florida legislature is set to close on Friday, capping off a 60-day Republican campaign to send key bills to Gov. Ron DeSantis as he sets the tone for his anticipated presidential campaign announcement.
DeSantis, widely seen as the biggest challenger to former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination in 2024, has long been expected to reveal his policy plans after the hearing adjourned. He could announce a presidential exploratory committee as soon as mid-May, NBC News mentioned last week.
If he enters the race, DeSantis would take the presidential fight on a wave of new state policy that enacts much of the governor’s conservative wish list.
The Florida Republican Party’s vast majority in the House and Senate has largely succeeded in achieving its goals Prepare To get DeSantis’ agenda “across the finish line,” passing bills on issues ranging from abortion to firearms to school vouchers.
The legislature tended to polarize the cultural battles that helped raise the level of the ruler at the national level, and strengthened his efforts to craft an image of a leader who deals with hot topics and achieves conservative results. Measures like the restrictive abortion law that DeSantis signed into law could help him in the GOP primary, but could reduce his appeal in the general election.
Lawmakers have also passed several measures that could help pave DeSantis’ path to the White House, if and when he decides to run.
Last week, the Legislature voted to introduce the DeSantis form Exemption to the stateResignation to runAct, allowing nominees for president or vice president to run without giving up their jobs in Florida. Another effective measure shields DeSantis travel records from public viewing.
“The entire session was focused on Governor DeSantis’ run for president,” Jim Clark, a senior lecturer and political commentator at the University of Central Florida, said in an interview. The legislature has given him 99% of what he wants.
while he was a Republican trifecta He enabled DeSantis in Florida, he became under heavy fire of Trump seems to be trending downward on Polls From the potential initial field, raise Questions about his appeal outside his state.
“It seems to me that the more voters get to know Ron DeSantis, the more problems he has,” Clark said.
The 2024 contest is in its infancy, with more candidates pouring into the primary months ahead of the first Republican debate. DeSantis also holds a major Fundraising He’s outmaneuvering most of his potential opponents, and some big names on Wall Street are considering backing the governor if he runs.
‘in full force’
Republicans captured a two-thirds majority in the Florida House and Senate in November’s midterm elections, when Democrats broadly underperformed across the state. With the legislature biased and the governor short of political accommodation and facing few obstacles, state legislators fought legislation with unprecedented speed.
“Once she was fired, she was going full blast,” Florida veteran political analyst Susan McManus told CNBC.
And DeSantis, in turn, soon signed many of his priorities into law, all while releasing an autobiography and touring the country in early steps toward a presidential bid.
Among the most controversial of Florida’s new laws, A.J ban in most abortions after six weeks of gestation, which would not take effect until the previous 15-week ban was resolved in the courts.
The move ensures that abortion, a high-profile topic in the latest election cycle after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, is again in the lead in the 2024 presidential race. President Joe Biden in launching his re-election campaign blasted Trump-aligned “radicals” who They are trying to control “the health care decisions women can make,” while Republican challenger Nikki Haley called for “consensusIn a stump speech focused on abortion.
DeSantis also signed legislation allowing Florida residents to carry concealed arms without authorization. He signed both abortion bills and firearms with little fuss In private, the facts noted by critics because they highlight the lack of support for both measures in opinion polls.
On top of these issues, in March DeSantis waded into the “choice of school” debate by signing a bill expansion Florida school voucher system. Supporters of school choice initiatives say they give some students the educational choices they need, while critics say they harm public schools. Vouchers are just one front in a broader battle over parental and child rights that also includes School curricula and LGBTQ+.
McManus said she expects the fight to be a major topic of the 2024 election.
Separately, on Monday, DeSantis signed into law a bill that would make child rapists eligible for the death penalty. He vowed to defend the law up to the Supreme Court, which he had banned The death penalty in such cases.
After a day signed Scale Restricting government and local entities from giving preference to the investment movement known as ESG. The fledgling campaign, which broadly refers to investment strategies that prioritize environmental, social and governance factors, has become a target of conservative critics who argue that big companies are bypassing incremental expansion.
It may be unusual, McManus said, that the supermajority pressing full force to pass legislation from the beginning of the session to the end of the session, but it is not surprising.
“You have to strike the iron while it’s hot, and that’s why elections are so important,” she said.
McManus added, “Democrats are well aware that their inability to make improvements in their representation in the legislature is now (coming) home to haunt them.”
Walt Disney’s War
Republican lawmakers have also backed DeSantis in his protracted battle The Walt Disney Company Stemming from the law, which critics dubbed “Don’t Say Like Me”. The governor’s dispute with one of the largest employers in his state has a presidential tone, as Republicans increasingly seek political appeal by targeting companies that take positions on social issues.
The battle began more than a year ago when Disney, under pressure from activists and many of its own employees, opposed the bill, which limits classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender ideology.
Soon after, DeSantis and his allies moved to dissolve the decades-old special tax zone that allowed Orlando-area Disney parks to essentially run themselves. The governor’s actions raised fears that residents of neighboring counties might be on the hook for paying a huge bill.
In February, lawmakers approved a new plan that left the district largely intact, but allowed DeSantis to choose the board of supervisors. But the new board complained before they sat down, Disney made a development agreement that effectively thwarted their authority.
The members of the Board of Governors then voted to cancel the Disney deal, claiming it was illegal. Disney sued DeSantis and the board of directors in federal court, accusing the governor of orchestrating a campaign of political retaliation against the company over her speech. The council returned in state court days later.
Potential rivals in DeSantis’ GOP primary have fired at the governor for his attachment to the Disney character, especially as this muddled situation hurtles through the courts. Some other Republicans have questioned the governor’s tactics. “I think it would be much better if you sat down and solved the problems,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last week.
DeSantis’ side seems undeterred. GOP lawmakers passed measures as recently as this week that dedicate Walt Disney World and increase the state’s power over the company.
On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers passed a bill that would void Disney’s development agreement. DeSantis is expected to sign it into law.
The legislature also passed a measure that would have the state transportation department conduct inspections of monorails at Walt Disney World.
Earlier this month, the state board of education approved the expansion One of the controversial segregation bill is at the root of the feud with Disney. The new rules extend the ban on teaching sexual orientation in classrooms to high school grades.
“Don’t Say Like Me 2.0,” said Lauren Bock, the ranking Democrat in the Senate, of the bill.
DeSantis leans more toward the actions that have angered LGBTQ+ activists. He is also likely to sign just passed Invoices Targeting university diversity programs and limiting the use of preferred pronouns in schools. State Republicans also approved a bill that would make it a crime for people to use certain bathrooms that don’t match their sex at birth. transgender activists say The bill, called the “Safety in Private Places Act,” puts them at risk.
It continues the trend of DeSantis, whose willingness to wield his power for right-wing cultural causes has made him a beloved Republican and a top name in the presidential rumor mill. His moves could well play into the Republican primary, where candidates are likely to tussle over who has the most conservative record on these issues.
teeing off?
DeSantis’ agenda bogged down on a few major issues.
Legislation that would have weakened media protections against defamation allegations has apparently been delayed Visible as a blow to the ruler. A bill that would lower the minimum age to buy guns to 18 Passed in the State House, but faced opposition from the Republican Senate President, Kathleen Basidomo.
However, DeSantis has racked up a long list of political accomplishments in a condensed tenure, which could give him a more solid foundation from which to launch a presidential bid. If the Legislature’s goal was to help DeSantis make a bid for the White House, McManus said, it has done its job.
However, it is not clear if DeSantis is in a better position to run for president than he was 60 days ago.
In addition to passing on his conservative-friendly agenda, the governor recently embarked on a campaign-style book tour touting his victory, released glossy videos promoting his state’s “blueprint” for success, and even went abroad to meet with world leaders.
But his polling gap with Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 nomination, has never been wider, according to FiveThirtyEightPrimary poll tracker. The former boxer boss has counted on DeSantis as his biggest rival and has spent weeks bashing the governor on everything from his record in office to his personality. DeSantis was less willing to respond to Trump, who remains the de-facto leader of the Republican Party and commands the loyalty of a large segment of his constituents.
“That’s really weird,” Clark said. “We’re talking about a guy who won 60% of the vote in Florida, yet outside of Florida he had trouble connecting with people.”
Clark said the situation came to mind in a classic episode of the long-running cartoon “The Simpsons,” in which Homer Simpson becomes the beloved mascot for his town’s baseball team. He was then recruited to be the mascot for a much larger city team, but his antics still held true on the larger stage.
“I keep thinking about it,” Clark said.
[ad_2]
