Soon after polls closed on Election Day, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivered a heated victory speech after achieving a decisive re-election victory.
The Republican attributed his “overwhelming” popularity to his conservative policies and record in office on Tuesday.
“We saw freedom and our very way of life in so many other jurisdictions in this country wither on the vine. Florida held the line,” DeSantis declared at a Tampa Convention Center gathering on election night.
In the address, he discussed the defining characteristics of his governing style, promising an unrelenting battle against “woke” brainwashing and claiming to make Florida a “citadel of freedom” in the United States.
The governor made it plain that he will maintain the policies and beliefs that have made him a national star among conservatives and a focus of political attack from the left.
Tuesday, DeSantis recalled the successes of his administration in an address.
“We have embraced freedom. We have maintained law and order. We have protected the rights of parents. We have respected our taxpayers. And we reject woke ideology,” he said to loud applause.
“We will never, ever surrender to the woke mob,” the governor promised to a crowd of cheering supporters.
“Florida is where woke goes to die!”
The Republican heavyweight’s winning margin exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts.
Rep. Charlie Crist, a Democrat, behind DeSantis by more than one million votes statewide. DeSantis received about 60 percent of the vote.
“We not only won re-election, we have rewritten the political map,” he said of his victory.
The governor has been called an agent of political transformation in Florida, transforming what was once a competitive battlefield into a strongly red state with a prominent national reputation in the conservative movement.
DeSantis is viewed as a formidable Republican presidential contender in 2024, which is why his fans screamed “Two more years!” at the ceremony.