TAMPA, Fla — Governor Ron DeSantis has finally revealed his bid for higher office. And with his White House announcement comes questions about what's next.
So we sat down with ABC Action News political analyst Dr. Susan MacManus to talk about what a DeSantis 2024 ticket may entail.
First up, she talked about potential positives for his campaign.
"DeSantis is young at a time when people are looking at the current occupant and the former occupant and they're looking at age and we can't really discount that," said Dr. MacManus.
And age isn't the only thing that might make DeSantis attractive to voters, Dr. MacManus says he will also tout his track record of controversial change in the state.
"He's obviously focusing on what he's accomplished. As governor and getting things passed and signed and put into law that a lot of republicans just really wanted to happen for a long time," she said.
They're things like his ongoing legal fight with Disney—after he eliminated the company's control of the reedy creek improvement district and appointed a new board of governors.
"I mean these are decades of subsidies and benefits that have really accumulated really kind of to benefit this one powerful company and now we're just basically on an even playing field," said DeSantis at a February press conference.
Another possible pillar of the DeSantis 2024 platform is his signing of the state's six-week abortion ban—which includes exceptions for rape, incest, and fatal fetal conditions.
It's a law that has prompted protests and legal pushback and is now awaiting a state supreme court ruling before it can be fully enforced.
And then there is the slew of bills he's signed over the last year. They range from restricting classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity to banning gender-affirming care for minors and requiring people to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender at birth.
Critics have repeatedly called these laws an attack on the LGBTQ+ community.
"We've heard plenty of stories of families with transgender kids or teachers who are transgender, employees who are transgender who are leaving the state right now or they are considering leaving the state," said Nicholas Machuca the deputy director of development at Equality Florida.
But DeSantis claims the changes are there to "protect children" in our state.
"There's a lot of nonsense that gets floated around. And what we've said in Florida is, we are going to remain a refuge of sanity, and a citadel of normalcy. And kids should have an upbringing that reflects that," he said at a recent press conference in Tampa.
While these things may play in his favor with some in the Republican base, Dr. MacManus also tells us that challenges await DeSantis ahead of the upcoming primary.
"Trump is extremely well known and he has a huge base around 30 percent. That isn't in itself insurmountable but what is also a challenge for Governor DeSantis is the fact that you've got at least five or six other Republicans that also either in the race or say they're going to get in the race and so that kind of splits that non-trump vote. That's a big hurdle as well," she said.
