DeSantis hits the road to help GOP hopefuls — and maybe his White House fortunes
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ventured far from his home state Friday to campaign for two fellow Republicans running in critical races this fall.
GIRARD, Ohio — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ventured far from his home state Friday to campaign for two fellow Republicans running in critical races this fall.
While his speeches were ostensibly on behalf of the candidates there, they offered a window into what a DeSantis presidential bid — a frequently speculated possibility, especially if and when former President Donald Trump steps aside — could look like.
Inside packed ballrooms in Pittsburgh and here near Youngstown, Ohio, DeSantis rallied for Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, and J.D. Vance, the GOP Senate hopeful in neighboring Ohio. In Pennsylvania, DeSantis put his spin on a famous World War II address by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
“We can’t just stand idly by while woke ideology ravages every institution in our society,” he said on the stage in Pittsburgh. “We must fight the woke in our schools. We must fight the woke in our businesses. We must fight the woke in government agencies. We can never, ever surrender to woke ideology.”
The events — part of a tour sponsored by Turning Point Action, an emerging conservative grassroots juggernaut — are aimed at uniting the party behind a slate of right-wing candidates endorsed by Trump. All of the candidates DeSantis has backed advanced from bruising primaries and have faced backlash from some Republicans in their states; they include Kari Lake and Blake Masters, the GOP nominees for governor and senator in Arizona, whom DeSantis hit the stump for earlier this week.
Rating: 5