| | '''Ronald Dion "DeSanctimonious" DeSantis''' (born September 14, 1978), is a stealth establishment, [[Never-Trumper 2024|Never-Trumper]] candidate for president in 2024. Having served as the 46th Governor of [[Florida]] since 2019, DeSantis has spent most of his governorship illegally "shadow" campaigning for president.[https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/04/28/florida-house-passes-bill-allowing-desantis-to-run-in-2024-without-resigning-heads-to-governor-desk-for-signature-after-he-returns-from-overseas-tour/][https://apnews.com/article/trump-desantis-ethics-complaint-2024-presidential-campaign-e887199fb9f63ef2051295eced5068ce] It was not until May 2023 that he formally declared what most people already knew. He has subsequently refused to commit to endorsing [[Donald Trump]] should Trump win the nomination.[https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2023/06/22/ron-desantis-on-if-he-would-support-donald-trump-i-dont-think-its-going-to-ultimately-matter/] After Trump was indicted on politically-motivated charges by a rogue [[Department of Justice]], DeSantis shamelessly took to Twitter and cited these abuses of federal power as a reason to vote for him over Trump.[https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1666986884604522499] | | '''Ronald Dion "DeSanctimonious" DeSantis''' (born September 14, 1978), is a stealth establishment, [[Never-Trumper 2024|Never-Trumper]] candidate for president in 2024. Having served as the 46th Governor of [[Florida]] since 2019, DeSantis has spent most of his governorship illegally "shadow" campaigning for president.[https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/04/28/florida-house-passes-bill-allowing-desantis-to-run-in-2024-without-resigning-heads-to-governor-desk-for-signature-after-he-returns-from-overseas-tour/][https://apnews.com/article/trump-desantis-ethics-complaint-2024-presidential-campaign-e887199fb9f63ef2051295eced5068ce] It was not until May 2023 that he formally declared what most people already knew. He has subsequently refused to commit to endorsing [[Donald Trump]] should Trump win the nomination.[https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2023/06/22/ron-desantis-on-if-he-would-support-donald-trump-i-dont-think-its-going-to-ultimately-matter/] After Trump was indicted on politically-motivated charges by a rogue [[Department of Justice]], DeSantis shamelessly took to Twitter and cited these abuses of federal power as a reason to vote for him over Trump.[https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1666986884604522499] |
| | + | Pandering to his [[dark money|dark-money]] mega-donors, DeSantis personally pushed for statewide [[sports gambling]] in a deal valued at $2.5 billion, despite opposition by [[conservative]]s based on the enormous harm inflicted by the [[gambling]] [[addiction]].<ref name="Politico">https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/30/desantis-scores-big-legal-win-upholding-2-5b-gambling-deal-with-florida-tribe-00104427</ref> |
| | It was due to Trump's endorsement of him in 2018 that DeSantis was able to win the [[Republican]] gubernatorial primary, and then barely defeated the later-indicted [[Democrat]] [[Andrew Gillum]] in the [[2018 midterms]].<ref>''[http://archive.is/QfvFt If Democrats want to win, they need a black politician on the ticket]'', Theodore R. Johnson, ''The Washington Post'', March 13, 2020.</ref> In 2022, [[conservative]] [[Ashley Moody]] won reelection as Attorney General by nearly 61% of the vote, which helped carry DeSantis to victory with a smaller number of those same votes.<ref>Previously, DeSantis served as a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from January 2013 to September 2018.</ref> | | It was due to Trump's endorsement of him in 2018 that DeSantis was able to win the [[Republican]] gubernatorial primary, and then barely defeated the later-indicted [[Democrat]] [[Andrew Gillum]] in the [[2018 midterms]].<ref>''[http://archive.is/QfvFt If Democrats want to win, they need a black politician on the ticket]'', Theodore R. Johnson, ''The Washington Post'', March 13, 2020.</ref> In 2022, [[conservative]] [[Ashley Moody]] won reelection as Attorney General by nearly 61% of the vote, which helped carry DeSantis to victory with a smaller number of those same votes.<ref>Previously, DeSantis served as a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from January 2013 to September 2018.</ref> |