The War for 2018 – Who will replace Rick Scott as the governor?
According to our friends at Sunshine State News, the 2018 Florida governor’s face added yet another big name. Congressman Ron DeSantis a Republican from Jacksonville made the announcement that he plans to run take a shot at running the state of Florida.
Both the Republican’s and the Democrats will likely see more people enter the ever-growing field of those running for Florida’s top job.
Most political analysts myself did not see this coming, however, DeSantis got a big-time endorsement even before he entered the 2018 race. He was given a strong boost when President Donald Trump tweeted his support for DeSantis before a number of the Florida Republican Party even knew that the Congressman’s gubernatorial aspirations.
In a press release he made the following statement “As you remember, a few weeks ago the president tweeted support for me as a candidate for governor of Florida,” DeSantis said. “So, today we are going to begin filing paperwork to begin that effort.”
He joins a very strong field with Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam of Bartow, State Sen. Jack Latvala of Clearwater and Pasco County’s own Richard Corcoran who is presently the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
Meanwhile, it did not take long for those on the Democratic side to jump on the DeSantis announcement. The group was led by one of the Dems who many think has a good chance to be her party’s nominee.
“Ron DeSantis running as Trump’s hand-picked candidate with the backing of out-of-state billionaires may endear him to the most partisan primary voters, but he is too extreme for Florida,” said former U.S. Rep. and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gwen Graham. “While DeSantis has dedicated his time in Congress to protecting Trump from Mueller and becoming a Fox News star, we look forward to a vigorous debate on the real issues that affect Florida families most.”
The GOP has had a stranglehold on the top spot in the state Florida for over three decades going back to Buddy MacKay, the last Democrat to hold the office.
They have one of their deepest fields’s in years with Graham, joined by Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, Winter Park businessman Chris King and Miami Beach Mayor Phil Levine.
But while the Democrats hope to ride the “Blue Wave,” all the way to the Governor’s Mansion. The state GOP is very confident that they can hold on the office, painting the narrative that Democrats have a lackluster, uninspired choice of candidates who cannot raise the money it will take to win.
Get ready we are just starting the mad dash to a big-time 2018 political showdown in the state.
