Gov. Ron DeSantis may have the support of most sitting state lawmakers. But are Republicans already out of office smearing the Governor to the national press?
One unnamed former legislator accused DeSantis of vindictiveness to The Washington Post.
“People are terrified of them,” the former state House member said.
The comments appear in a profile on the Governor and First Lady Casey DeSantis, a subject of growing national fascination as DeSantis runs for President.
The comment signals that there are plenty in DeSantis’ orbit who don’t like the way he has operated as Governor in the past five years.
“These guys are not normal politicos,” the lawmaker told the Post. “There’s no inner circle, because they just chop off heads and move on so quickly.”
It’s hardly the first time Republicans in the Legislature have suggested the Governor doesn’t act in good faith.
Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican, is the only sitting GOP state lawmaker so far to endorse former President Donald Trump for President over DeSantis. After DeSantis vetoed millions in dedicated spending for Gruters’ district, the lawmaker suggested that was retribution.
“The Governor is clearly upset I endorsed Donald Trump for President, and so he took it out on the people of Sarasota County,” Gruters said.
But most sitting members of the Florida Legislature have endorsed DeSantis for President, with 100 backing the Governor as of now.
That said, many asserted that, when a mass number of lawmakers endorsed DeSantis days ahead of the budget signing, fear of retribution played into their political calculus. And besides Gruters, those Republicans who have not endorsed DeSantis have not endorsed anyone.
For the past few years, the Legislature has been increasingly compliant to DeSantis’ wishes. That was true this year, as most of DeSantis’ priorities were passed early in Session. That included social conservative victories many saw as bolstering the Governor’s standing as he entered the Presidential Primary, including laws such as a six-week abortion ban and permitless carry.
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