Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is making moves for a potential 2024 run for the White House. He just held a day-long conference in Fort Lauderdale with a number of prominent GOP governors and candidates. This is according to a source who is close to one of the leaders who attended the conference and spoke with CBS News.
Some of those who attended this conference included Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
Along with these sitting governors, DeSantis also hosted former Trump White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders who is currently the Republican nominee for Governor in Arkansas. He also hosted Adam Laxalt who is the GOP gubernatorial nominee in Nevada.
One of the purposes of the conference was to connect the leading Republicans with DeSantis, major donors, and conservative media figures.
The Florida governor has been stepping up his national presence in recent weeks while considering this major move, but he is not responding to the media’s questions about a presidential run.
DeSantis is being used in some recent GOP presidential polls, including one that was done by the New York Times and Siena College that was published on Tuesday. He is the sole potential GOP candidate who is noting double digits from Republican primary voters against former President Donald Trump.
Trump Leading in 2024 Polls
In that poll, Trump has a significant lead over the rest of those who could run. A total of 49ers % leaned toward Trump, and DeSantis had 25%. Everyone else including former Vice President Mike Pence had single digits.
But that same poll indicated that almost half of the GOP primary voters were looking for someone different for president in 2024 than Trump. There was a “significant number vowing to abandon him if he wins the nomination.”
The new poll also showed Trump losing the race to President Joe Biden 44% to 41%. When Trump heard about the poll, he had this to say about The New York Times, “Fake polls, phony stories, and made up quotes—they are a disgrace to journalism and have set it back many many years. THE NEW YORK TIMES IS TRULY THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!”
One of the main platform points for DeSantis is the public school and what they are teaching children. The governor doesn’t trust them. He said at a recent news conference, “Following woke indoctrination in our schools, that is a road to ruin for this country. And we’re not going to let it happen in Florida.”
DeSantis is getting to be known for taking combative positions on controversial issues. He developed his “Stop Woke” act to set limits on issues involving what is taught in schools. It allows parents to sue teachers and school districts that violate the act.
He also developed the Parental Rights in Education Act, and his opponents began calling it the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. It bans any teaching that involves sexual orientation or gender identity in the earliest grades.
The governor said in an interview with Focus on the Family that he believes there is a “concerted effort to inject … gender ideology and sexuality into the discussions with the very youngest kids.”
His critics are saying that they believe this law is focused on DeSantis and the GOP Party mobilizing their conservative base by targeting the LGBTQ community.
But DeSantis made it clear in his Focus on the Family interview, “There’s an element on the far left that believes parents really have no role in the education of their kids. You drop them off at school…and they impose the ideology and worldview that they want.”
This would certainly become part of his national platform if he runs for president.
