While it’s still unclear whether Congressman Ron DeSantis will run for Governor, one thing is clear: DeSantis has lost interest in the people of Florida’s 6th Congressional District.
“Folks in Florida’s 6th Congressional District deserve a representative who will put their needs first, not a career politician like Ron DeSantis who spends all his time looking around for his next office. If Congressman DeSantis is as checked out from his current job as his recent behavior indicates, he should get on with running for Governor,” said Cole Leiter DCCC spokesperson.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Key Points
- Ron DeSantis is exploring a bid for Florida Governor, or maybe Attorney General… Who knows anymore?
- This isn’t the first statewide office DeSantis has examined; last year he briefly ran for Senate.
- Allies of DeSantis say “Ron’s eyes are locking on the Governor’s race.” Clearly he’s moved on from representing central Florida in Congress.
Fresh off big talk-radio endorsement, DeSantis makes moves to run for governor | Politico
By Marc Caputo | June 5, 2016
MIAMI — U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis is quietly exploring a bid for Florida governor next year as he meets with potential donors, chats up possible campaign staff and fields endorsements from fellow conservatives.
DeSantis, 38, who briefly ran for U.S. Senate last year before Marco Rubio decided to seek reelection, acknowledged that he’s examining a campaign. But he wouldn’t say much more beyond that or comment on what could be a bruising primary against Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, the likely GOP frontrunner, who last month launched his campaign.
“I appreciate the encouragement I’ve received about the 2018 governor’s race,” DeSantis told POLITICO Florida in a written statement. “I’m considering how I can make difference and will decide my plans by the fall.”
On Friday, DeSantis’ potential candidacy received a full-throated endorsement from conservative talk-show host and best-selling author Mark Levin.
“I see Ron DeSantis, Congressman of Florida is planning on running, I believe, for governor,” Levin said on his eponymous show.
“This guy is the real deal. He’s principled, he’s honorable, and he’s not your typical politician. He does what he says he’s going to do. And he’s very solid,” Levin continued. “I wish he was running for governor of my state of Virginia, quite frankly. You folks in Florida, you’re lucky.”
DeSantis today is in Tallahassee to meet with potential donors and supporters as he weighs a bid for governor or, possibly, attorney general. DeSantis has held similar exploratory meetings in Miami and Naples.
Part of DeSantis’ appeal to conservatives is his bio before he entered politics: Yale University undergrad; Harvard University law degree and a stint as a Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps who was deployed to Iraq in 2007.
First elected in 2012 with strong tea party backing, DeSantis has been a darling of hard-core conservatives ever since taking office in his Ponte Vedra-based seat. He was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus and, during his U.S. Senate bid, received the backing of anti-establishment conservative groups like the Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America.
Republicans had expected DeSantis to eye running for attorney general to replace term-limited Pam Bondi in 2018. But the more he looked at the governor’s race to replace term-limited Rick Scott, the more he received encouragement to consider campaigning for the state’s top office.
Before taking the next step, DeSantis wants to see just how much he can raise, because Putnam is the establishment Republican favorite in Tallahassee, with $10 million cash on hand in his campaign and political committee accounts.
DeSantis has $2 million in his congressional campaign account and another $750,000 in a super PAC. Not all of that money can be directly transferred over to a state raise, but much of it likely could be.
DeSantis’ backers say he doesn’t need to match Putnam dollar-for-dollar — and that he won’t be able to. But they’re counting on Putnam’s record as a career politician (he’s 42 and has continually served in political office since he was 22) to be a major drawback in a Republican primary in a state that has rewarded Republican outsiders, namely Trump and Scott, who bested the Tallahassee establishment in 2010 by beating the favored GOP candidate for governor, Attorney General Bill McCollum.
“Ron’s eyes are locking on the Governor’s race,” said one DeSantis’ associate who has spoken with him. “And he clearly sees Adam Putnam as the 2018 version of Bill McCollum.”
One Republican consultant said DeSantis’ team has been approaching colleagues to see if they’d work on a statewide campaign. The consultant said DeSantis’ team became emboldened after Putnam, without explanation, fired his campaign manager and political director even though they were receiving plaudits among Republicans.
“It showed weakness and stupidity,” the consultant said. “They [DeSantis’ team] see more of an opportunity.”
DeSantis’ spokesman Brad Herold, who worked on his Senate campaign and recently joined Something Else Strategies, run by some of Rubio’s longtime advisers, said no decision has been made about the congressman’s plans.
“He’s in the process of making his decision,” Herold said. “He has the conservative credentials and the bio, and the experience to run statewide if he decides that’s best.”
DeSantis isn’t the only Republican exploring a potential bid. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, who recently opened a new political committee, has acknowledged he’s considering whether to run. Meanwhile, some Republican consultants are abuzz with speculation that an as-yet-unnamed self-funding multi-millionaire will enter the race.
On the Democratic side, former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum appear to be their party establishment’s favorites in a multiple candidate primary.
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