DeSantis set to run for governor
Congressman’s move could draw national attention to 2018 race
U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis announced Friday he’s running for Florida governor this year, bolstered by an endorsement from Donald Trump and donors such as casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and Windermere timeshare magnate David Siegel.
“As someone who’s a military officer, an Iraq veteran, a proven conservative, and then with the support of the president, I’m in a position to provide the leadership that can build on the great work Gov. Rick Scott has done to advance economic opportunity, reform education and drain the swamp in Tallahassee, which needs to be drained,” DeSantis, R-Palm Coast, told Fox News.
DeSantis, 39, a three-term Republican congressman whose district includes Volusia County and northern Lake County including Mount Dora, could end up turning national attention to a GOP primary that was expected to be a battle between Tallahassee stalwarts Adam Putnam, the state agriculture commissioner, and state House Speaker Richard Corcoran.
“Coming from out of the U.S. Congress is not the typical track to get to the Governor’s Mansion,” said Lance deHaven-Smith, an emeritus professor of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University. “But politics is more national with President Trump, and it could well be possible to run from the House as a national figure.”
Ever since the president’s Dec. 22 tweet saying DeSantis “would make a GREAT Governor of Florida,” billionaire conservative power brokers including Adelson and heiress Rebekah Mercer have joined DeSantis’s “Finance Leadership Team.”
Trump’s support came after DeSantis became one of the president’s biggest defenders by calling for an end to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of his campaign’s possible Russia connections.
Siegel, the CEO of Westgate Resorts, has been a prominent Trump supporter. He said DeSantis’ close connections with Trump played a role in his decision to back the congressman’s bid.
“I think all the contenders are great, I just happen to think DeSantis is the bestqualified,” Siegel said Wednesday. “His experience on the national scene is a big help.’’
But Siegel, who lost his daughter Victoria to an overdose in 2015 and has become a vocal anti-drug advocate, added “all things being equal, I feel he’ll do more to end the drug epidemic than anyone else will.”
DeSantis’s regular appearances on Fox News — free media that doesn’t require campaign spending — have helped boost his name recognition with a Republican base that may not pay close attention to the goings-on in Tallahassee, said former U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-St. Petersburg, now a political commentator for MSNBC.
“DeSantis may very rapidly take over the conservative lane Corcoran was basically running in,” Jolly said. “Obviously Corcoran needs significant financial backers … but DeSantis is clearly getting the majority of them.”
But not all. Two prominent figures not on the list backing DeSantis are the billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and David, the owners of Koch Industries and some of the biggest Republican donors in the country. Jolly said the Kochs, who famously were lukewarm on Trump, are looking at who could get the most results for their favored small government policies.
“The ones lining up behind DeSantis are the movement conservatives,” Jolly said. “Corcoran has the opportunity to get folks like the Koch brothers, who are more interested in transactional state politics and state policy.”
Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, will make a decision on running for governor after the next legislative session ends in March, spokesman Taylor Budowich said.
Putnam is considered by some political experts to be the moderate when compared with Corcoran and DeSantis.
“And who would have thought,” Jolly said, considering Putnam’s conservative background as a congressman himself from 2001 to 2011. “It’s remarkable how quickly Republican politics has transformed.”
Putnam had to make some difficult votes as a member of Republican leadership, Jolly said, including for the auto and financial bailouts in 2008 and keeping the government open in the Barack Obama administration. “It’s a cheap shot, especially when you’re voting to keep the government functioning,” Jolly said, “but in a Republican primary, some of those issues are toxic.”
In a statement, Putnam spokeswoman Amanda Bevis called DeSantis "a Washington, D.C., insider.”
“In true Washington insider fashion, Congressman Ron DeSantis announced his latest campaign from an empty TV studio to broadcasters in New York,” Putnam said. “DeSantis is a typical Washington politician who is focused on nothing more than his next promotion.”
DeSantis couldn’t be reached for comment.
Putnam may be better positioned for a general election in an evenly split purple state than he would in a cutthroat GOP primary, where conservatives such as DeSantis and Corcoran have the advantage, deHaven-Smith said.
“The problem is you’ve got to run very conservative in the primary and then run to the middle in the general election,” he said. “And that’s always pretty tough.”
The winner of the Aug. 28 Republican primary would face the Democratic winner in a field that includes former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, Winter Park businessman Chris King, Miami Beach Mayor Phil Levine and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.
“While [DeSantis] has dedicated himself to protecting Trump and becoming a Fox News star, we look forward to a debate on the issues that affect Florida families,” Graham said in a tweet Friday. “His support for privatizing schools, his denial of climate change and his votes to cut Medicare are out of touch.”