“Everyone told me I was wrong,” said DeSantis, a Republican, in an appeal for fundraising on Tuesday, calling attention to his challenge against the pandemic. “I faced continued pressure from radical democrats and the liberal media, but I refused to back down. Of course: Florida got it right.”
While many parts of the country are embarking on a restless march toward normality, Florida is not just back in business – it has been on the market for most of last year. DeSantis’ bet on adopting a laissez faire approach seems to be bearing fruit – at least politically, at least for now, as other governors who call attention in the opening phase of the pandemic now face greater challenges.
Despite far fewer rules and restrictions, Florida is almost in the middle of all states on a variety of coronavirus metrics. The state had about 3% more cases of Covid-19 per capita than the United States in general, but about 8% fewer deaths per capita. More than 32,000 Florida residents died from Covid-19, and the state’s per capita mortality rate is 24th in the country.
“These blockades did not work. They did a great deal of damage to our country,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Tallahassee on Tuesday. “We cannot let something like this happen again. Florida has chosen a different path. As a result, we have been more successful.”
DeSantis – who, at 42, is the country’s youngest governor – is standing out among his colleagues and taking advantage of what he and his supporters believe is a justification for his policies.
School blockades and openings are suddenly a new measure for voters to hold governors and other elected officials accountable, a sign that pandemic policy can open an uncertain chapter for many in public office. He will be among the governors who will put his record to the test when he runs for reelection next year.
“We still have millions of children across the country who do not have access to face-to-face education,” DeSantis told a news conference. “We still have closed deals in many parts of this country. We have millions and millions of lives destroyed.”
‘It wouldn’t be growing if it was closed’
With spring on the horizon, DeSantis suddenly appears to be in a position of strength compared to some of his fellow governors, including many of whom have taken much more restrictive approaches to fighting the coronavirus, which has had a residual effect on the economy.
He is not facing a possible recall as California Governor Gavin Newsom, under investigation as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo or being questioned for suspending a statewide mask term as Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
DeSantis refused to implement a mask mandate in the first place, making him an outlier a year ago. At the time, he was closely following President Donald Trump’s handbook, which he argued was good for business.
The unemployment rate in Florida is 4.8%, according to the latest data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared to 6.8% in Texas, 8.8% in New York and 9% in California.
“If you look at what’s going on in South Florida right now, I mean this place is growing. It wouldn’t be growing if it was closed,” said DeSantis last month when a crowd of tourists started arriving. “Los Angeles is not growing. New York City is not growing. It is growing here because you can live as a human being.”
Florida recorded about 9,204 cases per 100,000 people and about 150 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. Across the country, there were about 8,969 cases per 100,000 people and 163 deaths per 100,000 people.
Despite much stricter restrictions, California ranks only one place better than Florida in both measures. Its death rate is about 5% lower than that of Florida, which means that about 1,500 lives could have been saved in Florida if the state’s death rate equaled that of California.
“What I would love to ask about Florida is, if we had done things differently in Florida, what would it be like?” Salemi told CNN. “If you use these metrics where Florida is in relation to many other states, we are in the middle of the group. So, no, it was not a disaster because we lead in per capita mortality in cases per capita.”
He added: “It is not always about doing well in relation to our peers. It is how we can prevent the maximum morbidity and mortality from the virus and, at the same time, keep an eye on what is happening to our economy.”
He said Florida also benefited from local laws by requiring masks and restricting the length of meetings. DeSantis has banned cities and counties from fining people for refusing to wear masks and is causing outrage among local authorities by pressing to withdraw his authority to put such rules into effect.
Throughout the pandemic, it is that challenging and often combative DeSantis that has increasingly become the darling of the Republicans. He refuses most interview requests, including from CNN, even when he appears frequently on Fox News and other advertising platforms. He has been fighting one after the other with the state media because of the transparency in Covid’s statistics and other issues.
However, his policies increased his position within his party, almost closing the door on any Republican challenge. Potential Democratic candidates are already circulating.
Congressman Charlie Crist – who was Republican governor of the state from 2007 to 2011 and changed parties in 2012 – is among Democrats looking to challenge DeSantis for reelection next year. He said he intended to make up his mind before the summer.
Asked how he thought Florida had resisted the pandemic, Crist said, “It’s a mix of things, to be honest.”
“We have a sense of light at the end of the tunnel and it really is a godsend,” Crist told CNN in an interview in his office here. “On the other hand, there are about 33,000 of my colleagues in Florida who are dead now. And this is incredibly sad, tragic and very unfortunate. So how are we doing? the best we can. “v
“Was there a preference given to certain republican and wealthy communities in the Caucasus?” Crist said. “Because it certainly looks like this.”
A spokeswoman for the governor rejected the accusation, saying, “The hint that the policy plays in Florida’s vaccine distribution is baseless and ridiculous.”
‘I think he took a chance and it worked’
Here in Florida, where the beaches along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico are packed this week in ways not seen for over a year, the full story of the pandemic has yet to be written, as President Joe Biden inherits the challenge and accelerated vaccines here and across the country. Still, health experts and local officials fear that a parade of vacationers on spring break could contribute to an increase in Covid-19 cases.
Tom Golden, who owns a restaurant and bar along the busy stretch of Central Avenue in central St. Petersburg, said he didn’t have much of an opinion about DeSantis a year ago. But with his business not only surviving, but thriving, he offers a measure of credit to the governor.
“When he took office, he wasn’t sure what to expect,” Golden said in an interview just before lunch on a sunny morning this week. “But he did nothing to hurt me as a businessman or as a Floridian. It’s fine with me.”
After the companies were allowed to open after being closed for several weeks in late spring, Golden said he remembers conflicting feelings about the balance between keeping the economy alive and protecting public health.
“Well, of course, as a business owner I supported, but as a human being, I kept thinking that it is a horrible position to be in,” said Golden. “It is difficult to measure. I think he made a good decision.”
Conversations with more than a dozen Floridians offered a broad assessment of views on the treatment of DeSantis for the coronavirus crisis. Several people suggested that they did not initially support him, but, in retrospect, approved his decision to reopen the economy and schools.
A woman strolling along the St. Petersburg pier talked about her grandchildren in California, who attended school virtually last year. She said she believed Florida’s approach was better, given the temperate climate and the ability to be outdoors. She declined to be identified by name, but praised DeSantis’ decisions, which allowed the orchestra to resume playing here and for the economy to prosper.
Molly Minton, who works as a laboratory supervisor, said she remembers being discouraged when she came home from work and saw crowded bars and restaurants. Looking back, she said she is happy that many small businesses have been able to remain open and believes that Florida has simply been lucky in many ways.
“I think he bet and it worked,” said Minton of the governor.
In an extensive state of more than 21 million people, where some estimates say that about 1,000 new residents arrive every day, many people said that they had no opinion on DeSantis and did not know much about him.
He was born in Jacksonville and raised on the Gulf Coast, north of here, in Dunedin, and had a love for baseball that led his team to the Little League World Series. He later played outfield while studying at Yale. He graduated from Harvard Law School and worked as a naval prosecutor, including a stint in Iraq as a lawyer for the Navy JAG, advising a SEAL team.
In 2012, he won a seat in Congress and was elected governor in 2018, two months after his 40th birthday. He was virtually unknown during the primaries campaign until he won the endorsement of Trump, who learned of him through frequent appearances on Fox News.
Now, DeSantis is seen by many grassroots conservatives as a potential presidential candidate for 2024. That path depends on his re-election to governor next year.
Your long-term future, of course, also depends on the outcome of the rest of the pandemic. Still, it is clear that he hopes to make this his new business card, which he telegraphed in a fundraising appeal for Republican governors that he sent to his supporters on Tuesday.
“At the moment,” wrote DeSantis, “my state of Florida is one of the only ones that said no to oppressive roadblocks and has become an oasis of freedom for Americans.”