Top Three Takeaways – January 29th, 2021
- 58%. A year ago, that was Governor DeSantis’s approval rating as he rolled out his budget which called for 2020 to be “The Year of Teacher”. Broadly popular at the time, the governor boldly laid out his plan for the largest increase in teacher salaries in Florida’s history with a pay structure which would take Florida’s teachers from being below average in compensation to among the top in the country. This as he outlined the continuation of record spending for environmental projects and pushed reform for the contamination of Florida’s waterways. In many respects it feels like much longer than a year ago because as DeSantis laid out his plans for the year, he nor we, knew what was about to hit us. In the end, the pandemic took its toll on numerous agenda items. He vetoed over a billion dollars in projects approved by the state legislature. Quoting DeSantis at the time of the budget vetoes “we are dealing with something that is unprecedented and we’ve just got to be very responsible”. Part of being “very responsible” was holding the line by delivering on his top priorities even in the mist of the pandemic. A pandemic in which he was broadly maligned by news media for his response. In Florida and across the country.
- 30th. That’s where Florida ranks in population adjusted COVID-19 cases to date. That means 29 states have had a higher concentration of their citizens contract the virus than Florida. This includes Florida not only having a lower COVID-19 case count the country on average, it’s also the lowest of the three largest states with both Texas and California – despite its notorious lockdowns, having more cases per capita than Florida. The pragmatic approach of Governor DeSantis proved more effective than the approach of 29 other states including the most draconian of them all in California. That pragmatism hasn’t just resulted in better outcomes for Floridians than other states, it’s also led to an unemployment rate which is 9% lower than the national average and 32% lower than in California. Less spread of the virus and lower unemployment rates as well. His leadership, while certainly not perfect, has produced expectational results in our state. That now includes the most efficient vaccination program of any large state in the country. And for all of this the daily coverage of the governor is what exactly?
- 54%. That’s what Governor Desantis’s approval rating is today based on yesterday’s Florida Chamber of Commerce poll. Despite dipping into the low 40’s at points during the pandemic last year, it appears as though most Floridians have realized reality from the nonsense. In one sense it’s remarkable Governor DeSantis’s approval rating isn’t higher than it was this time a year ago given his performance leading the state through the pandemic. It’s likewise remarkable how it’s only four points lower given the unprecedented effort by news outlets to use the pandemic to misled Floridians and tear DeSantis down. This year as he’s advancing his “Florida Leads” budget which calls for a $286 million increase in public school funding from last year’s records, along with $625 million for environmental funding ranging from the Everglades Restoration Project to proposals to assist local governments with sea-level rise... He might, in theory, be advancing it as a slightly less approved of governor. In my eyes, he’s more credible than ever. It’s during times of adversity that you really see what people are made of. That’s true of our governor and it’s true of our news media. Governor DeSantis’s performance leading Florida through the greatest adversity we’ve faced since World War II is demonstrably the best of any comparable state in the country. If only the same were true of our news media. But, on balance, most Floridians get it.
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