The best way to beat DeSantis in the governor's race is to focus on his authoritarianism... and even then it is unlikely. Is DeSantis unstoppable? https://news.yahoo.com/desantis-unstoppable-093710424.html Florida Democrats this week chose Rep. Charlie Crist to challenge Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in November. Crist, who once served as Florida's governor as a Republican, decisively beat his chief rival, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. Crist got 59 percent of the vote to Fried's 35 percent. After criticizing Crist during the campaign for his past support for conservative policies and his record on abortion, Fried conceded and vowed to give Crist her full support. "We are going to make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor, and a zero-term president of the United States," she told her supporters. "We Democrats have to come together like never before." Crist fares better than Fried in polls against DeSantis, but he trails by enough to be considered a clear underdog. FiveThirtyEight gives DeSantis a 92 percent chance of winning in November. Florida's governor has been firing up former President Donald Trump's MAGA base for months, pushing abortion restrictions, fighting coronavirus restrictions, and barring schools from enacting policies designed to increase sensitivity to gay and transgender students. Crist hopes to pull off an upset in a year when Democrats are overperforming in bellwether special elections. He has promised to sign an executive order protecting abortion rights on his first day in office, which could help him tap into the energy of voters angry about the Supreme Court's overturning Roe v. Wade. Does Crist stand a chance, or is DeSantis unstoppable? Crist could win by making the campaign about DeSantis' bullying Crist is a "mild-mannered moderate on the trail," says Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post, but he "came out swinging at DeSantis," calling the incumbent a "bully" who threatens Floridians' "fundamental freedoms." The newly minted Democratic nominee "accused the governor of imitating the worst political authoritarians around the globe, and bashed him for refusing to call out his flag-waving neo-Nazi supporters." If that sounds like "he is running against former president Donald Trump," it's because he is. "He's battling a mini-Trump who adopts the same inflammatory slogans ('woke' seems to be his favorite word), and who also refuses to unequivocally denounce white nationalists." Florida is trending red, and DeSantis is a well-funded incumbent good at dominating the headlines. But Crist might have come up with a winning playbook against DeSantis, or "any MAGA Republican nominee in 2024, by making his "bullying and violations of freedom the central issue." DeSantis is too good at his job for Crist to beat Attacking DeSantis for acting like Trump is a questionable strategy in a state Trump won, twice, says Kevin D. Williamson at National Review. Florida is "purple on paper," with 5 million Democrats, 5.2 million Republicans, and 4 million unaffiliated voters. "But Democrats have a hard time winning elections there. The state hasn't elected a Democratic governor since 1994." One explanation is that "Florida Republicans are — hear me out — smart." Jeb Bush was a very good governor for the Sunshine State, as was Rick Scott, now one of its two Republican senators. "Ron DeSantis' decision to cast himself as Donald Trump's Mini-Me has been at times silly and undignified, but he, too, has been an effective governor." That record inspires confidence among the right-leaning independents who decide elections in the evenly split state. Crist might peel off a few "country club Republicans" turned off by DeSantis' "Trumpiness." But the party-switching Crist is no game-changer. He's "the athletes' foot of Florida politics — irritating, embarrassing, and kind of gross, whichever side he's on." Crist might lack the 'firepower' to overcome DeSantis' advantages "Few Republicans ignite the same kind of outrage among Democrats as DeSantis does," says Max Greenwood at The Hill, but it's not clear Crist and Florida Democrats have the "firepower" to beat "a governor whose political rise among conservatives appears, at times, unstoppable." The "political landscape has shifted drastically," largely due to the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe, the landmark ruling that had made abortion legal nationwide for half a century. But early polling shows DeSantis leading Crist comfortably. DeSantis has many big advantages. He "has pulled in more than $100 million for his re-election bid — an amount more in line with that of a top-tier presidential candidate than a state official seeking a second term in office." Crist's fundraising haul isn't even close. And, in another sign of Florida Democrats' struggles, "the number of active voters registered with the GOP surpassed the number registered as Democrats for the first time in the state's history — an advantage that has only continued to grow since late last year." Defeating DeSantis remains a longshot, and Democrats know it. Democrats are dreaming. DeSantis isn't vulnerable Calling Crist a longshot is an understatement, says Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. DeSantis has been making this election season all about him for months. "DeSantis has been pushing back against abortion, sex-change surgeries for minors, illegal immigration, and even still had time to derail a progressive prosecutor for refusing to enforce the law. Democrats have had months to take the wind out of DeSantis' sails. All they have wound up doing is fanning the winds right back into them." DeSantis has consistently polled around or above 50 percent against Crist and Fried, "a pretty comfy position for an incumbent." And "Democrats have spent all year throwing the kitchen sink against him" without making a dent in his lead. Asking whether Crist can pull off an upset and beat DeSantis in November is a "tepid thought experiment." The answer is obvious. "Nope." Crist could be the right candidate at the right time Crist's landslide primary win made it clear that Florida Democrats "are fed up with losing close statewide elections to Republican extremists," says the Orlando Sentinel in an editorial, "and they realize that only Charlie Crist can stop Ron DeSantis' one-man reign of authoritarianism and intolerance." DeSantis, "unchecked by a lapdog Legislature," has "made the office of governor a dark dungeon of culture war grievances aimed at school boards, businesses, women and LGBTQ people." He has turned his office into "a propaganda machine to promote his presidential ambitions," leaving "real-life pocketbook issues" like affordable housing and high energy and property-insurance costs unsolved, while pushing through "a 15-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest" and promising an "open carry" gun law in a second term. Crist unites while DeSantis divides, and voters will see that when they debate. Florida Democrats can't stop DeSantis without help "To compete with DeSantis, who has already broken state records for his fundraising, Democrats must appeal to a national audience," says Emily L. Mahoney at the Tampa Bay Times. But it's a hard sell. The Sunshine State is notorious for its big, expensive campaigns, and its rightward shift makes it a potential "money pit for big national donors." There's still reason for Florida Democrats to hope that "national Democrats will send in the cavalry. Better fight DeSantis here, this thinking goes, than in a more expensive and expansive run for president in two years." But DeSantis has been "unfazed" by Crist's and Fried's broadsides, hardly mentioning them on the trail. He has been "focusing instead on raising his national profile and raking in so much money that the only question, in the mind of his backers, is how big his victory margin will be."
On the other hand you would think it would be the perfect strategy in a purple state.... well maybe not. Democrats do not want to pour money into this state to support a former Republican who is unlikely to win. Crist urges Democratic donors to help stop DeSantis before he becomes too powerful. But Florida is a tough sell https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/28/politics/charlie-crist-florida-donors-desantis/index.html
Fetterman is running against Oz --- and is up by over 18 points against Oz. Primarily because Oz is a total idiot. DeSantis may be numerous things, but he is not an idiot.
Perhaps, he is a bigger clown tho edit: actually, isn't Oz an actual MD/surgeon? And a multi-millionaire? I'm not sure I buy DeSantis IQ being higher than OZ's, even w/his JD/IV league accolades.
Ron DeSantis ('lil Trump') is copying how Trump stands and his weird "accordion hands" hand movements and Trump is not happy. Trump Accuses Ron DeSantis of Stealing Trump’s Speaking Mannerisms and ‘Style’ https://www.politicalflare.com/2022...tealing-trumps-speaking-mannerisms-and-style/ To be fair, we had sort of said the same thing, as ridiculous as it sounds, though we emphasized that DeSantis imitated Trump in many ways, though we mostly meant playing stupid. DeSantis is not stupid, sorry – he’s a little too effective, and he has two Ivy League degrees and was a JAG Corps lawyer, fairly impressive. But he looked and sounded stupid at times, and we attributed that to imitating Donald Trump’s “everyman” thing. DeSantis certainly didn’t want to come off as some sophisticated Ivy league lawyer. But Donald Trump would never say that DeSantis is copying him by playing stupid. Trump is saying, however, that DeSantis is “stealing” his physical mannerisms. From the invaluable Rolling Stone (Done some of the best political reporting this year): According to three people who’ve spoken to the former president about the Florida governor last year and in more recent months, Trump has repeatedly ridiculed DeSantis for ripping off the ex-president’s style. Trump has a distinctive (and much-satirized) way of gesticulating while casually talking, delivering political speeches, or even “firing” contestants on his former game show. When Trump has seen video clips of DeSantis speaking at public events over the past year and a half, the former president has scornfully mocked the ascendent Florida Republican for appearing to imitate Trump’s body language, movements, and even, at times, speaking rhythm. One of the other sources recalls Trump joking at a dinner event earlier this year that he’d ought to sue DeSantis for copyright infringement. Do you know anyone you stands like this, seriously? Well, take a look at how DeSantis has been standing… Has it ever occurred to Trump that conmen around the world do a lot of gesticulating to distract people from what they’re actually saying (or to emphasize what they’re saying)? Does Trump understand that done properly, using physical mannerisms is a powerful tool in public speaking? In other words, does Donald Trump understand that – though DeSantis may be imitating Trump (we said he was smart) in order to conjure up Trump in people’s minds, he may also be using some of his own speaking style? No. Trump doesn’t understand such because he’s the center of the universe so everything originates with him. In addition, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history and Italian studies at New York University and an expert at authoritarianism, says copying the style of a popular leader is fairly common. Ben-Ghiat says, “Men with political ambitions learn quickly that mimicking the leader, in word and deed, can win them a place in the new political world the leader is creating. They learn that the leader rewards public expressions of loyalty and blind devotion. Imitation truly is the best form of flattering an authoritarian or authoritarian wannabe’s giant ego.” She continied, “The Italian dictator Benito Mussolini set the modern template for authoritarianism. His surrogates and proxies repeated his hyper-masculine performances and bombastic oratory, starting with his son-in-law, Galeazzo Ciano, who mimicked Il Duce’s chin thrusts, earning the nickname “the Jaw.” “ Although, it seems like DeSantis’s copying Trump isn’t flattering Trump at all, giant ego and all. That’s most likely because DeSantis is an actual competitor to Trump at this point, and is looking more and more like the heir apparent to the MAGA throne, whether Trump likes it or not. Take a look for yourself:
‘We Draw the Lines’ tour targets voter turnout, Gov. DeSantis’ ‘unconstitutional’ congressional map https://floridapolitics.com/archive...-desantis-unconstitutional-congressional-map/ The tour kicks off in Sanford at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and concludes more than a month later in Jacksonville. One week after the Primary Election, the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis’ congressional map, which erased two Black-performing districts in Florida, are launching a statewide tour to mobilize minority voters in key counties. Starting Tuesday, Equal Ground is teaming with fellow plaintiffs Florida Rising, League of Women Voters and Black Votes Matter for the ‘We Draw the Lines’ tour. The tour will include stops in six counties the new map impacts over the next month. The tour’s kickoff event will be at the Sanford Civic Center Annex in Seminole County, followed by a stop at the Smith Center in Orlando on Sept. 7. Both events begin at 6:30 p.m. Other stops at to-be-announced locations include Osceola County on Sept. 12, Hillsborough County from Sept. 13-14, Miami-Dade County on Sept. 15, and Jacksonville in Duval County on Oct. 6. During the stops, the groups will speak with voters about the map and provide updates on the history of each district, its current composition and how that compares to its earlier makeup. The groups will also use each stop to motivate potential voters to cast ballots on or before the Nov. 8 General Election and educate them about critical legal changes, including vote-by-mail strictures and voter registration deadlines. The districts in contention including Florida’s 5th and 10th Congressional Districts — whose redrawing, critics argue, discriminated against Black voters — and Florida’s 7th, 9th, 13th, 14th, 26th and 27th Congressional Districts. “It is incredibly important that we talk directly to people, residents and voters because they’re the ones being targeted and because voter data is what determines the makeup of these maps and whether districts will remain whole or move,” said Jasmine Burney-Clark, founder of Equal Ground, a Black-led civic engagement nonprofit. “The people we’re working with are residents. They’re voters. They’re people who our state is saying aren’t participants in the process but are also the ones most deeply impacted by voter suppression laws that have been passed in this state that almost prohibit their access to the ballot box.” Florida’s prior congressional map (left) compared to its current version. Note the erasure of Congressional District 5, among other changes. Image via Equal Ground and the Fair District Coalition. Event attendees will also learn more about how the Florida Supreme Court in early June declined to hear arguments over the new map, allowing its changes to govern elections this year. “We want to talk to folks about how important courts matter in this process, not just the courts that will be listening to our case but how the Supreme Court, a court of individuals who are appointed and retained each election cycle of every sixth year, plays a role in our future elections, the map-drawing process and how they allow unconstitutional maps to move forward,” Burney-Clark said. Twelve residents, all Democrats, across seven counties signed on as voter plaintiffs to the lawsuit, which lists Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee, Attorney General Ashley Moody, Senate President Wilton Simpson, House Speaker Chris Sprowls, Senate Committee on Reapportionment Chair Ray Rodrigues and House Redistricting Committee Chair Thomas Leek as defendants. The lawsuit leans heavily on language in the Fair Districts amendment in the Florida Constitution. The amendment prohibits the drawing of maps that favor or disfavor a political party and protects minority communities’ right to elect candidates of their choice. In their lawsuit, the groups argue the new congressional map “intentionally favors the Republican Party at nearly every turn” and represents “one of the most extreme gerrymanders in the country” as it violates both requirements set forth in the Fair Districts amendment. The lawsuit still pends resolution. The groups don’t expect to see the matter settled in the near future, according to said Moné Holder, senior director of advocacy and programs for Florida Rising, a statewide voting rights and grassroots organization focused on empowering Black communities. “We’re anticipating a longer road ahead,” she said. “As our attorneys prepare for the next steps of litigation, we’re looking at how to continue to build our cases and just hoping to keep the community aware that this redistricting is something we need to address … Black representation matters locally, in our state, across the county and the world, and any efforts to diminish Black voice and representation should not be tolerated.” Click here for more information on the ‘We Draw the Lines’ tour dates and stops.