Wherever he goes, Governor Ron DeSantis brings greetings from «the free state of Florida.» He announces his «Florida Plan.» And he boasts about how many people from whatever state he’s visiting love to take advantage of Florida’s warm weather and low taxes.
But a funny thing happened when DeSantis travels the country with the «Make America Florida» message endorsing the Republican’s soon-to-be-launched presidential campaign.
DeSantis discovered that not everyone wants to be Florida. And he has met with vigorous pushback from other competitive governors and Republican officials who believe their states have done as much, if not more, to advance a conservative agenda.
“It’s a lot of fun competing with my colleagues and Republican governors across the country,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who hosted DeSantis in the nation’s first state caucus, said in an interview with NBC News. «But make no mistake, we are competitors.»
reynolds inserted and interviewed DeSantis at two events in March, making sure to keep her own record alongside his and frame them as equally successful Governors. However, DeSantis stressed that he enjoys a «special perch» or «unique cat bird seat» to see how other governors are doing, «because when people visit or move here, they tell me what’s going on in their state».
After granting this authority to himself, he snapped some photos of Democratic-led Illinois and proclaimed that Reynolds presides over «one of the best-run states.»
It’s a delicate task that, in the wrong hands, can become a magnanimous pimp or a condescending pat on the back. and there have been signs in recent weeks that DeSantis acknowledges that he needs to change the way he talks about Florida, making it sound less aspirational and exceptional and more like an example of Republican leadership that has thrived elsewhere.
Reynolds, who emphasized that his rivalry with DeSantis is a friendly one, brushed off a question about whether his comments might offend Iowans and then quickly turned to his own accomplishments.
“Offend Iowans? Oh no, because I took care of that,» Reynolds said. «Because starting this year, no longer tax retirement income. He made a deal with Governor DeSantis. He said, ‘Hey, I’ll let our retirees go to Florida, maybe a couple of months in January and February, when the temperature isn’t that great here in Iowa.… He’s nice when he talks about it.’
DeSantis’ Florida drive has also sparked some jokes in New Hampshire. in a republican dinner there last month, DeSantis spoke admiringly about that state’s «Live Free or Die» motto before launching into his self-congratulatory story. Before DeSantis left the stage, New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Chris Ager joked with the governor.
«Instead of people moving to Florida,» Ager said, «maybe you can move here.»
DeSantis’ spokesman did not respond to a request for comment for this article.
As braggart as DeSantis can be, he’s also looking for common cause with his audience. During two stops in Ohio last month, he highlighted his mother’s roots in the Youngstown area and his wife’s childhood in Troy, near Dayton. During that trip, he told a crowd of Republicans over breakfast in Akron that some parts of Florida are like «Ohio South» given the number of retirees there.
“And it’s all good, because I’ll tell you, when it came time to get that big margin of victory, there were a lot of Ohio transplants who supported me,” DeSantis said, referring to his 19 points. electoral margin last year. «So, God bless you for doing that.»
During a speech in south carolinaDeSantis mentioned how his in-laws now live in the state and how he has noticed more traffic on the roads there when he and his wife visit.
“Similar to what we have seen in Florida over the years with people coming here,” he said.
But he could not resist an attempt at superiority: “As is well known, and as long as I am around, permanently, we have no state income tax. They should try it sometime.
In Georgiaa compliment quickly gave way to a complaint.
“One thing we’re not number 1 at anymore is college football,” DeSantis told an audience during a visit to a gun store in March. “So I just have one small plea…just stop taking so many of our high school football recruits. Can you give us a little chance?
Ager, the New Hampshire Republican Party chairman, said in an interview that he sees nothing wrong with friendly competition, and wasted no time in asserting his own state’s superiority.
“Clearly we are number 1. Governor DeSantis calls it the free state of Florida. But the Cato Institute…in all of their scoring criteria, New Hampshire came in first place last year,” Ager said, referring to the opinion of a libertarian think tank. classification of New Hampshire as the freest state, based on personal and economic freedoms. «So we have some objective criteria from a third party.»
DeSantis himself seems to have softened his tone a bit. While addressing At the Utah Republican Party organizing convention in late April, he called the state, led by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, «one of the best-performing and best-governed states.» DeSantis then went on to bestow perhaps the highest compliment he could, even if it came at the expense of a third state.
“I was recently visiting with some people in Iowa, and people said, ‘Iowa, it’s really Midwestern Florida with all the conservative stuff they’re doing,’” DeSantis said. «Well, let me tell you, this may be a little secret, but it could be that Florida is the Utah of the Southeast.»
for when the returned to iowa this month, DeSantis seemed ready to reconsider.
“I was here in March, and somebody took note and said, ‘Man…Iowa is like Midwest Florida.’ … But I just want you to know that after seeing all the good things you’ve done in Iowa, Florida may be the Iowa of the Southeast. So we’ll see.
For the competitive Reynolds, there’s no question.
“Absolutely,” said the Iowa governor, who has not endorsed any presidential candidate. «Florida is the Iowa of the southeast and we are doing everything we can to continue that narrative.»