Don’t freak out…
For months after Gov. Ron DeSantis absolutely walloped his opponent Charlie Crist in the Florida gubernatorial race last November, it felt like maybe Democrats should finally just write off the Sunshine State once and for all. The governor’s war on Mickey and Minnie was bizarrely resonating and his argument that he wanted to turn America into Florida was appealing to many in the Republican base.
But don’t freak out quite yet about the future of Florida Democratic politics.
Fast-forward six months and it turns out DeSantis’ culture war obsession may not be as popular as he thought. In April, he signed his new six-week abortion ban late at night and with much less fanfare than he’s given previous anti-abortion legislation. And this week, the shocking win by Democrat Donna Deegan in Jacksonville flipped a mayoral seat against a DeSantis-endorsed candidate in a county DeSantis won by 12 points in 2022. Florida isn’t exactly sailing into blue territory anytime soon, but Deegan showed that it isn’t a state entirely controlled by Republicans either.
A story you should be following: Abortion as a GOP talking point
Abortion rights have now become a divisive flashpoint within the Republican Party.
When asked about Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new six-week abortion ban, Trump called it “too harsh.” DeSantis fired back, “Protecting an unborn child when there’s a detectable heartbeat is something that almost 99% of pro-lifers support.”
Last week, Trump was asked repeatedly if he would sign a federal abortion ban into law and he refused to answer. When I asked potential presidential GOP candidate Gov. Chris Sununu last week whether he would sign an abortion ban, he responded, “Not only would I not sign the national abortion ban, but nobody should be talking about signing a national abortion ban.”
It’s clear that the GOP is no longer the party of anti-abortion policies across the board. This makes sense: 58% of adults in…
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