What Florida can expect from Governor Ron DeSantis
Bottom Line: Three Supreme Court justices, decisions about the future of officials like Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, starting the state rollout of the Lake O’ reservoir, etc. - these are immediate action items as Ron DeSantis takes the reigns from Governor Scott. Much of the political conversation surrounding DeSantis has mostly been typical left-right banter and bickering without more serious consideration for how he’ll likely govern. A couple of months ago in the wake of his election win I highlighted his record in congress as insight into who he really is on policy. Here were a couple of the highlights from my research.
His voting record was 4% more conservative than the average Republican
For perspective his record is slightly less conservative than Mario Diaz-Balart and...
He had the 151st most conservative voting record in the US House (out of the 435 members)
In other words, he was more conservative than 65% of congress but more moderate than 35%. How does that fit Florida? According to Gallup’s findings from last year here’s what Florida looks like...
- Florida is 13% more conservative than liberal
- 35% of Floridians ID as conservatives compared to 22% who ID as liberal
In other words, Florida’s preferred politician remains right of center but not hard right. Ron DeSantis’s record lines up very well with our state politics. It remains to be seen how exactly he’ll govern and if he’ll be an effective governor but as he takes office, he should be defined by his own actions rather than perceptions. With big decisions looming almost immediately, we shouldn’t have to wait long to see how he’ll govern the state for the next four years.