Ron DeSantis is Struggling to Maintain Power in Florida

Ron DeSantis is continuing his jihad against LGBT individuals - the state's tourism site recently deleted the section on LGBT tourism - and racial minorities in his war on all things "woke" but with the presidential campaign in full swing, focus has shifted from DeSantis whose positions were adopted to unsuccessfully court MAGA base voters. In this atmosphere of reduced media coverage DeSantis' troubles in Florida (including the abortion referendum on November's ballot and the state's continued homeowner insurance crisis) have to some extent gone unreported.  DeSantis played the culture wars to the hilt and helped launch the toxic "Moms for Liberty", pushed book bans, wage war with Disney, and signed Florida's draconian abortion law, yet the full embrace of MAGA and demonization of those that base deems "other" may be running out of steam, especially given that DeSantis is faced with term limits that block him from running for reelection as governor. One can only hope that DeSantis' fortunes continue to sink and that the abortion and marijuana referendums bring out many voters who will cast votes both for the referendum questions and Democrats in general.  A piece in Politico looks at DeSantis' struggle. Here are highlights: 

Gov. Ron DeSantis — whose pugnacious brand of politics made him a national Republican star — is now finding himself against the ropes at home.

DeSantis pulled back a contentious plan this week to add golf courses and hotels at some Florida state parks. The governor acted after his administration’s “Great Outdoors Initiative” faced a withering blast of criticism from across the political spectrum, including from one-time GOP allies who may run for governor when he’s out of office.

Local school board candidates he backed underperformed in the Aug. 20 primary. He is feuding with the lone Jewish Republican in the Legislature after that lawmaker called out DeSantis for recently traveling to Ireland — which has recognized Palestine as a country.

And two initiatives on the November ballot on abortion access and recreational marijuana appear poised to pass despite the governor’s opposition.

The hits follow DeSantis ending his presidential campaign after coming in a distant second in the Iowa caucuses. Both political supporters and detractors are watching closely to gauge how this will impact an anticipated run for president in 2028. Continued losses in his home state over the two years of his term-limited tenure would dampen his prospects.

[T]here is growing anticipation in Tallahassee that incoming legislative leaders who take over this November will be less accommodating to DeSantis, and that other politicians eyeing the governorship or cabinet jobs will also grow bolder in expressing their positions.

“I don’t think the backlash about parks was about him being a lame duck,” said Jamie Miller, a veteran political consultant who once worked for the Republican Party of Florida. “But I also do think that when the governor was tone-deaf in the past, people would go along with it. And now they’re positioning themselves for their political futures and you won’t see them do that.”

DeSantis did try to distance himself from the parks plan this week and called it “half-baked” even though it was his administration that first announced the initiative and even had scheduled public hearings related to it.

The potential passage of the two amendments on abortion and marijuana could also affect the governor’s legacy. DeSantis has been very vocal about the two measures and his chief of staff is running two political committees aimed at defeating them.

The recent events stand in stark contrast to most of DeSantis’ first five years as governor, including when he achieved a nearly 20-point reelection victory in 2022. DeSantis became a conservative star due to his handling of Covid-19 where he reopened schools faster than other states and fought against mask and vaccine mandates. He also waded into policy including a much-publicized battle with Disney after the company objected to a state law over classroom instruction of gender and sexual identity.

In the lead-up to his presidential run, DeSantis had continuous cooperation with the Florida Legislature on a series of laws about guns and abortion and other conservative touchpoints that he touted on the campaign trail.

But the presidential race tested the limits of his brand. Trump and his allies torched DeSantis until he got out of the race and endorsed the former president, which has had some lingering after effects. State Rep. Randy Fine, an outspoken Brevard County Republican who is running for state Senate, had endorsed the governor’s run but then switched to Trump last fall. At the time, Fine criticized DeSantis for not taking a stronger stance against anti-Semitic activity in the state. . . . . He even suggested the Legislature should consider eliminating some positions in the governor’s office.

Fine, in an interview with POLITICO, said he recognizes that DeSantis still has the “power of the veto pen” but added “he’s not in the same situation” that he was two years ago.

Fine said DeSantis has not done enough to develop strong relationships to weather these turbulent times. “You’ve got to be nice to people on the way up because there is going to come a time when you are on the way down,” said Fine, a sentiment he has previously expressed about DeSantis.