JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Can Gov. Ron DeSantis continue to run the state of Florida effectively while campaigning for president?
It’s a question News4JAX Insiders and viewers are asking. They also are wondering how much money DeSantis’ presidential campaign is costing taxpayers.
Several voters want to know where the governor is and when will he be back in Florida to focus on local issues.
″He needs to come home and check on things also, his priority should be the state of Florida right now,” a voter said.
Others said they are pleased with the job he’s doing here at home while managing the campaign trial.
″I’ve only been here two years and I only moved here because of Ron DeSantis, I think he’s doing a great job, and I think he’d make a great president,” voter Rodney Webb said.
DeSantis’ last news conference in Florida was two weeks ago on August 9th.
He announced he was suspending Orlando State Attorney Monique Worrell, before heading back to the campaign trail.
DeSantis has traveled from Utah to New Hampshire to Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Wisconsin for the debate last night.
He seems like a good governor, but maybe president is too much to handle. It’s a lot dealing with Florida, and not add 49 states,” Moniquie Carter said.
Some voters said they’d like to see the governor focus more on housing affordability, property insurance and crime.
In the meantime, millions of dollars of taxpayer money is funding DeSantis’ campaign-related travel and security.
According to state records, Florida taxpayers have spent more than $14 million on travel and protective security over the past two years as he prepared for a campaign run.
In 2021 to 2022, travel and security for DeSantis’ wife and three children totaled $5.5 million.
In 2022 to 2023, those expenses skyrocketed to roughly $8.8 million.
Over four years in office, the total cost of travel and security detail for the governor totaled more than $22 million.
Regarding the price of travel, the governor’s press secretary wrote the following.
“By law, FDLE must provide protective services to the Governor and First Family. His record as the most effective conservative governor in American history has also earned him an elevated threat profile, and FDLE has increased the number of protective agents to ensure the governor and his family remain safe.”
After leaving the debate in Wisconsin Wednesday night, DeSantis is returning to Iowa to kick off a bus tour. It’s unclear when he will return to Florida, and for how long, with activity on the campaign trail heating up.
“If he’s not running the government in the state of Florida, then his eyes are on a different prize,” Craig Schiess said.
Recent legislation signed into law by the governor limits the amount of information the public knows about his travel, providing the governor’s office with a public records exemption.