One thing is undeniable: Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, is a controversial political figure who has made a large impact on Florida.
On one side, there is a group of people who admire him, praise him, and believe that he is Florida’s liberator. On the other side, there are people claiming he is a condemnation of Florida’s society and has doomed us all.
With DeSantis seeking a second term in the 2022 Florida gubernatorial election, it is essential to look at his history to properly assess why people perceive him with these perspectives.
DeSantis was born in Florida where he moved from Jacksonville to Orlando, and then to Dunedin. After graduating from Dunedin High School, DeSantis attended Yale University. He graduated in 2001 with a B.A., magna cum laude, in history.
After his undergraduate degree, he attended Harvard Law School while also serving in the military and receiving a multitude of accolades. In 2007, DeSantis reported to the Naval Special Warfare Command Group and was assigned to SEAL Team One, which was deployed in Iraq.
After returning to the U.S., he was reassigned to the Naval Region Southeast Legal Service and the Department of Justice appointed him to serve as an assistant U.S. attorney.
In 2012, DeSantis ran in the Republican primary for Florida’s 6th Congressional District and won with 39% of the vote.
In January 2018, DeSantis announced his candidacy for governor of Florida. With the support of then-President Trump, DeSantis defeated former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum with about 100,000 more votes and has been in office as governor since Jan. 8, 2019.
Ever since, DeSantis has been both praised and criticized for his political decisions. This can be seen in his methods of dealing with COVID-19 protocols, Black Lives Matter protests and LGBTQ legislation.
When it comes to COVID-19 protocols, DeSantis holds a strong stance on anti-mask rights and condemns vaccination mandates. He believes opposition to these mandates is crucial for the freedom of Florida residents.
He pushed this idea so far as to even state that schools with mask mandates are violating the state’s recently passed Parents’ Bill of Rights, which gives parents the last word on health care for their children. DeSantis went on to take legal action and punish schools that presented students with a mask mandate.
As of Nov. 18, 2021, DeSantis signed legislation to prevent the firing of Floridians who decide to opt out of masks and vaccines, having his office write that it is “the strongest pro-freedom, anti-mandate action taken by any state in the nation.”
When it came to the Black Lives Matter protests, DeSantis primarily focused on stopping violence. DeSantis announced the “Combating Violence, Disorder and Looting and Law Enforcement Protection Act” in an attempt to decrease the number of protests.
“Our right to peacefully assemble is one of our most cherished as Americans, but throughout the country we’ve seen that right being taken advantage of by professional agitators, bent on sowing disorder and causing mayhem in our cities,” said DeSantis.
DeSantis has been supporting law enforcement for a while now, leading to a heavy influx of endorsements from Amy Mercer, executive director of the Florida Police Chiefs Association. However, when asked about this endorsement, the FPCA declined to comment.
As for the LGBTQ legislation, DeSantis signed a bill disallowing transgender females from playing on public school teams that are categorized as girl-born student athletes. This led to a statewide culture war over transgender rights.
When addressing this issue, DeSantis stated, “Because we believe in fairness, we stood up against woke corporations and the NCAA, and we signed a bill protecting women’s sports.”
When asked their views on DeSantis, the University of Florida College Democrats stated that their members do not support him nor his policies or beliefs. They labeled him as “a carbon copy of Trump,” with many “large unconstitutional, discriminatory, and invasive” mandate policies, such as HB 1, the anti-protest bill, and HB 233, which the UF Democrats say “requires university students and faculty to report political beliefs.”
When asked the same question, the UF College Republicans shared that DeSantis is “making the hard yet right decisions that promote advocacy, transparency, and accountability.” They also pointed out that all people who oppose his decisions “fail to understand the fundamental concepts of progress and instead lean toward appeasement.”
With all this controversy, DeSantis still has a significant upper hand in poll results compared to his political counterparts for the 2022 Florida gubernatorial election, according to poll predictions.
At the Turning Point USA 2021 Student Action Summit, DeSantis left everyone with the following remark: “Whoever succeeds me is not going to have a lot on their plate because I’m taking everything there is to do and getting it done.”
Check out other recent articles from Florida Political Review here.
Featured image taken by Mikhail Mikhaylov.
32 Comments
FuckRonD
desantis is a piece of shit who lies all the time i cant stand the man
Amy Md
You are ignorant. Didn’t you just read how much he has done to protect folks from the radical left?
Amy
I hate this dude. He is the worst. I hate Florida for accepting this terrible man and normalizing his wretched behavior. He is a scourge
Lenore
I like the objective approach you are taking, but fuck DeSantis. You made it seem like he is trying his best but all he and his Republican friends care about is money. He is crashing Florida to the ground.
Mikhail Mikhaylov
Thank you for your comment, Lenore. I try my best to have an objective, non-partisan manner in my writing.
Glenn
You got that right.
sam
Great to see an article with the good and the bad he has done during his term and that also includes many sources.
Mikhail Mikhaylov
I appreciate your feedback. I try my best to create articles that take a non-partisan approach and this comment of yours encompasses my goal very well! Thank you, Sam.
Mendy
TRUMP 2024!!!!!!
DeSantis 2022!!!!!
Vote correctly people. DeSantis is our national treasure.
Amy
Based on the statistics this article links to the poll predictions, it doesn’t look too good for DeSantis’ opposition. So i’m going to say you might be right. Not too sure about the trump one tho, buddy. We can only dream tho.
Stein
Informative article. I think it is interesting to see what ron will do next. Love him or hate him, he is a man of strong will.
Mikhail Mikhaylov
Thank you for your comment, Stein. Governor Ron DeSantis is definitely an interesting political figure.
@3kd
DeSantis should be very respctd mre. Lve him
Amy md
Good point there.
Amy Md
It’s hard to say how politics will play out in Florida, especially in the next gubernatorial elections here, but DeSantis did do a lot and these Democrats need to face the fact that he indeed did make a large impact and do a lot of work. He has the right intentions, even if people don’t see it that way.
Analyst
This is an interesting read. It brinks on the controversies but also has an outstanding level of objectivity to it. The topics are discussed without having the author provide their own criticism. Overall, it did well in the delivery of information on the Floridian Governor DeSantis.
Maria
Great job I love it you worked hard
Mikhail Mikhaylov
Thank you so much, Maria!
D. Williamsburg
Great article! Thoroughly covers DeSantis’s time as Governor in a non-partisan way which is rare these days. I see a bright future for this young man!
Ivan MIKHAYLOV
This is a good article. Now, I know what DeSantis is criticized for. Apparently, I share his point of view on controversial issues.
Nate S.
HEY,
THAT IS AN AMAZING IMAGE FOR A COLLEGE STUDENT TO TAKE. IS THAT ORIGINAL ORIGINAL OR DID YOU JUST TAKE IT FROM ONLINE?
BEST,
NATE S.
Mikhail Mikhaylov
Hello Nate!
The image was taken by me so it is indeed an original. Thank you so much for noticing and commenting.
Yours truly,
Mikhail Mikhaylov
Other
How about we just accept daddy DeSantis as our governor and just respect that some democrats don’t understand that and it hurts daddy DeSantis will be here for a long time and you can’t stop him so try your best but you won’t do anything against him daddy desantisss for the win 20222222222 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
r.j.d.
Nicely written article. Thank you for sharing.
Mikhail Mikhaylov
Thank you for taking the time to read this article!
R.J.D.
cool image, too
Phil D.
Very well written!
4fre3
ما هي أفكار DeSantis حول الهجرة؟
Asir
This is a good non-partisan article on such a large political figure. I respect the objective tone used and the image is of such high quality for an undergrad student to take. Good job!
Nicholas Matthews
Nice article. Precise information, quick read, and no radical opinions. Excellent work, Mr. Mikhaylov.
Xin Sheng
good take on interesting topic. desantis is more relevant than ever.
Emelinan
interesting read. keep up the work.