Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign is floundering due to his alienating personality and litany of missteps. And now, we’re maybe starting to see the proof on the ground.
On Tuesday, Jacksonville elected a Democratic mayor for only the second time since 1995. Former TV news anchor Donna Deegan defeated Daniel Davis, a hard-right Republican with DeSantis’ endorsement.
That’s big news on its own: Jacksonville was the largest city with a GOP mayor (No. 11). That distinction now goes to Fort Worth, which is No. 12. (Colorado Springs, previously the sixth-largest city with a Republican mayor, also elected a Democrat Tuesday night).
But the news of Jacksonville going blue is even more significant once you consider the city’s political structure.
The Jacksonville city government consolidated with the Duval County government in 1968, meaning everybody in the county votes for mayor–not just people living in the City of Jacksonville. So no, this can’t be dismissed as just another large urban area rejecting conservatives.
Duval County is the definition of a swing area: it voted for the Democratic nominee for governor in 2018, the Republican mayor in 2019, President Joe Biden in 2020 and DeSantis last year. He carried Duval County by nearly 12 points.
In the grand scheme, Florida Democrats are still reeling. There is a Republican supermajority in the state legislature and several blue counties are now red, including Miami-Dade. DeSantis won reelection by 19 points in 2022.
But Deegan’s victory could be a start. It’s probably the best political story for Florida Democrats since Andrew Gillum narrowly lost the governorship to DeSantis in 2018, if we’re being honest.
Deegan, 62, campaigned as a “change candidate” and played up her relationships across the city, according to the New York Times.
“Love won tonight, and we made history,” she tweeted. “We have a new day in Jacksonville because people chose unity over division—creating a broad coalition of people across the political spectrum that want a unified city.”
Deegan’s 52-48 win over Davis, who outraised her 4-to-1, is an indication that DeSantis’ hard right turn may be too much for Floridians. His full-throated embrace of the culture wars and far-right policies, such as signing a six-week abortion ban, have already repelled donors. GOP mega donor Thomas Petterfy told the Financial Times that DeSantis’ views on “abortion and book banning” have caused him to pull his financial support.
Maybe swing voters are equally turned off. This week, a group of angry moms sued the DeSantis Administration to stop book bans at school districts throughout the panhandle.
DeSantis’ assault on the LGBTQ+ community has been unwavering. Just on Wednesday, he signed a law outlawing gender-affirming care for minors, and an anti-trans bathroom bill that allows adults to be criminally charged if they don’t use the bathroom that matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
He’s also expanded Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prohibits classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, to cover all grade levels, and signed a bill legalizing anti-LGBTQ+ medical discrimination.
And we didn’t even mention his futile feud with Disney!
It’s apparent that DeSantis is trying to pander to the national Republican base with far-right positions. But that doesn’t seem to be working. His poll numbers are akin to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s; and on Tuesday, his endorsed candidate for governor of a deep-red state lost her primary.
On Monday, DeSantis made a last-minute endorsement of Kelly Craft, a former United Nations ambassador under Donald Trump, who was running in Kentucky’s gubernatorial race.
Good to know his track record for endorsements is following Trumps. They don't represent most of America and it shows.
— SassyT is tired of the GOP ☮️ 🇺🇦 (@Sassyt1274) May 17, 2023
Despite her MAGA bonafides–and heavy spending–Craft was projected to lose the Republican primary to the state’s attorney general, and Mitch McConnell favorite, Daniel Cameron.
If Craft’s campaign thought pulling out DeSantis would sway some voters, there were clearly mistaken. She wound up performing even worse than expected, finishing a distant third with just 17% of the vote (Cameron won with 47%).
Last weekend in Iowa, DeSantis told Republican voters it was time to change the party’s “culture of losing” under Trump.
On Tuesday, Cameron turned his words right back at him.
DeSantis is trying to flex his political muscle at the expense of LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized individuals, but two key races on Tuesday night further exposed his weak hand.
Scroll down for more reaction to DeSantis’ rough night…
Anti-democracy @GOP book banner and misogynist Ron DeSantis losing is good for America.
— Robert Fanney 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@robertscribbler) May 17, 2023
I can’t figure out why people don’t love Ron DeSantis. pic.twitter.com/0rX5iz7qhH
— Pete Puma (@PeterPumer) May 17, 2023
The kiss of DeathSantis.
— Dare_L (@dare_l) May 17, 2023
Amazing. Good things are still possible in Florida if we all show up to vote!
— Darrin Hall (@DarrinHall15) May 17, 2023
See the Resemblance? pic.twitter.com/wyhUCKBP36
— The Resistor Sister®️♥️🇺🇸 (@the_resistor) May 16, 2023
Good to know his track record for endorsements is following Trumps. They don’t represent most of America and it shows.
— SassyT is tired of the GOP ☮️ 🇺🇦 (@Sassyt1274) May 17, 2023
“L” Santis seems a nice nick going forward.
— Brobin4 ⚡🎸 (@brob0444) May 17, 2023
Maybe this totally normal dude just isn’t likable 🤷🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/SrV9QUGN5s
— Mike ⛰️🚴🏼♂️ 🥾 (@mikew71772) May 17, 2023
dbmcvey
Good. This anti-gay fascist needs to be defeated wherever he goes.
abfab
Disney Pulls Plug on $1 Billion Development in Florida
A new office complex, and relocation of a division from California, would have created more than 2,000 jobs but was scuttled as the company and Gov. Ron DeSantis continue to feud.
NYT
abfab
Good reporting, Alex. If not for you this story would have passed by. Every time I see the word Florida I become ill.
Invader7
DeSanctimonious is starting to get a taste of his nasty,evil Karma. Pay back is gonna be a real bitch. He has the personality of a paperclip, is ice cold ,is an illmannered douche bag. He has a nasty temper,uses people in his psychotic quest for power. He has Napoleonic delusions of grandeur. Thinks he ‘s some savior. Is imposing an anti-democratic ,deranged warped vision of “normalacy” onto the awful, toxic state of Florida – I wouldn’t step foot in that putrid swamp if it was the last place on Earth. Plus his speaking voice reminds me of vocal version of nails on a chalk board – irritating as Hell. And the most telling trait of all: Google DeSantis up close -specifically his cold ,blue eyes next to a color picture of Adolph Hilter. They both have the same cold,blue eyes with the tightly wound pupils. Signs of sociopath /psychopath. Some people call Gov Ron Hitler in a Suit. They’re correct.. He’s a dangerous despotic zealot. I fon;t want him to ruin what’s left of a decent America. He can keep his super creepy crap in Florida.
abfab
Thank you for taking the words right out of my mout. He’s all of those things but I really got a kick out of the paperclip personality. He’s going down and I hope he enjoys the Okeefanokee and the Tallahatchee Bridge and the plies of breeding snakes on the Tamiami Trail and the Alligator Alley and the red tides and the toxicity of Mara Lago.
Maybe he could go and live with that horrid woman who got Dubbya elected by playing with hanging chads in Sarasota.
Kangol2
Excellent reporting. The other thing to remember about Deegan is that her GQP opponent tried to smear her by saying she’d be a “radical” leftist, and thought that mentioning her open support for the Black Lives Matter protests would hurt her. In fact, they didn’t! She won by a larger margin than expected! Floridians can see the extremism being rammed down their throats by the out-of-control GQP, and more are fed up with it than the media have picked up on so far.
abfab
Thank you, K2. I’m glad you keep up with local politics. You remind me in a way of Chris Matthews/Hardball. A show I watched all the time. He was on top of city and state elections, too. Like they say….”all politics is local”.
But, don’t worry, you’re not nearly as obnoxious as he was. But he didn’t suffer fools and I aways learned something.
abfab
Today (on All Things Considered) he said something so clever and original: ‘we need to let our kids just be kids”.
Kangol2
Who, Ronda Fascist? I don’t think he has a clue what that phrase means. Neither do many in the GQP.
abfab
I’m sorry Rhonda, but if I had kids I would not want them to be ”just kids”. I’d also not call them kids. They are children and many are young adults.
I’d enjoy seeing San-toast and San-tiss crash and burn up overnight. But we will just have to enjoy (suffer) whatching them go thru a slow-burn. This gas shall pass, too.
cuteguy
The Florida Dems are to blame for the fat piece of garbage as governor when they supported that loser Andrew Gollum over a centrist like Charlie Crist during Deathsantis first election. Hopefully this finger eating pudding loser will go to pasture. Ron Deathsantis is extremely dangerous for us all if he were to become president, which looks unlikely for now, which is great news. We need someone like Gavin Newsom in the White House
DBMC
Republicans are to blame for voting on this tiny fascist.
abfab
Disney Pulls Plug on $1 Billion Development in Florida
A new office complex, and relocation of a division from California, would have created more than 2,000 jobs but was scuttled as the company and Gov. Ron DeSantis continue to feud.
NYT