JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio have hit the general election campaign trail and made a stop Wednesday night at the Diamond D Ranch on Jacksonville’s Westside.
Much of what we’ve seen so far has been political posturing for the primaries, which happened Tuesday. Now -- two of the highest profile races people will be watching ahead of Nov. 8 are on, right here in Florida.
DeSantis and Rubio spent the evening promoting their accomplishments over the past four years, and now they know who they’ll face in November. Charlie Crist is vying to return to the governor’s mansion -- and Congresswoman Val Demings hopes to take Rubio’s seat in the Senate.
Interestingly enough, in Desantis’ remarks Wednesday evening, he didn’t really mention Crist, and instead took aim at the Biden administration and touted his own accomplishments on everything from COVID-19 to issues in schools.
“We’re proud to have stood as the vanguard of freedom in this state, in this country, actually, for the last three years,” DeSantis said. “And we’re only getting started.”
But Crist, also on the campaign trail, is saying Desantis is a polarizing governor who brings division.
“It’s like he wakes up every morning about the new group he wants to attack,” Crist said during an interview Wednesday. “We don’t need, you know, to tear my state apart. We need to bring my Florida together and do what’s right for people and have a heart in the governor’s office again.”
Rubio, however, did go after his opponent, characterizing Demings as a member of Congress without any accomplishments.
“Every police organization in Florida is endorsing me and not her,” Rubio said. “But they said ‘Let’s go find the person who’s reliable.’ They said ‘Let’s go find this Congresswoman from Florida who has voted with Nancy Pelosi 100 percent of the time.”
Demings has implied that a vote for Rubio takes Florida backwards.
“I’ve said along this campaign trail, let me say it again, we’re not going back. We’re not,” Demings told supporters. “There are women and men and people of all races and ages who suffered, bled and died for us to have the Constitutional rights that we enjoy. We’re not going back to being treated like second-class citizens.”
During DeSantis’ speech, two local school board race winners took the stage, saying the governor’s endorsement was critical in securing them a win.
The governor’s education agenda has touched on several topics, including re-opening schools early during the pandemic, removing mask and vaccine mandates, and stopping what he and his supporters refer to as “woke indoctrination” in schools.
This issue will now likely be a theme in his race to return to Tallahassee. Crist is saying DeSantis has been constant in policies that are divisive, one being the Parental Rights in Education Bill.