Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s reelection campaign launched a new ad on Tuesday featuring Floridians celebrating his achievements from his first term and thanking him for standing “strong for the people of Florida.”
The minute-long ad, Results, begins with DeSantis saying, “Today we delivered for the people of Florida yet again.”
The governor’s remarks are being played on a television in a restaurant, where a worker says, “He saved our jobs.” A cook adds, “and kept us going.”
Soon you will start seeing this statewide….
Governor @RonDeSantisFL delivers results for the people of Florida.
From parents to small business owners, waitresses to nurses, sheriffs to teachers…
Floridians are grateful for the Governor’s leadership. pic.twitter.com/HxgovXgIPc
— Casey DeSantis (@CaseyDeSantis) September 6, 2022
The ad pans to a car mechanic who says, “They tried to shut us down and you saved our business.”
A police officer turns down the radio as DeSantis reminds Floridians of $1,000 bonuses he instituted for first responders to say the governor “had our backs.”
A veteran adds that the governor “honored our service.”
A nurse says the governor “led by facts, not fear” during the Covid-19 pandemic. A firefighter adds, “and you let us decide,” seemingly referring to the decision to get vaccinated.
The ad goes on to laud DeSantis’s decision to keep schools open during the pandemic, when schools in many progressive states closed. A child says the governor let him go to school, while a woman who appeared to be his mother said the governor “gave me a voice,” likely a reference to the state’s Parental Rights in Education law.
A man in front of a church says DeSantis “protected our right to worship together in person.”
FiveThirtyEight gives DeSantis a 92 percent chance of winning reelection in November against his Democratic opponent, Charlie Crist.
The state has increasingly shifted to the right in recent years. Florida Republicans saw a voter-registration advantage over Republicans for the first time in the state’s history in December 2021. By March 2022, Republicans notched a 100,000 voter registration advantage.
DeSantis also has a massive $140 million reelection fund at his disposal.
Crist said shortly after winning his primary that he doesn’t want the governor’s supporters to vote for him in November.
“Those who support the governor should stay with him,” he said during a press conference on Wednesday. “I don’t want your vote. If you have that hate in your heart, keep it there.”
During an appearance on MSNBC he made similar comments about DeSantis being hateful: “I’m going to beat [DeSantis] because I’m running on love, and love always wins. If he wants to run on hate, culture wars, dividing people, and making people hate each other, that’s his turf. It’s not mine. I’m on different turf, and it’s what Floridians deserve.”
Crist has claimed that the upcoming election is “Democrats’ last chance to stop” DeSantis before he runs for president. DeSantis, a rising star in the GOP, is seen as a likely contender for the presidency in 2024, though he has not confirmed that he plans to run.
“And it’s going to be a lot cheaper to do it in Florida than it would be to do it in 50 states,” Crist said. “So let’s do it now.”