Florida GOP operatives worry governor’s loss will yield 'a vengeful DeSantis': report
Days after Florida governor and 2024 GOP candidate Ron DeSantis ended his campaign, Florida political operatives are anxiously wondering whether or not the Sunshine State leader will "take political retribution against Republicans who he sees as having betrayed him in the presidential race," Politico reports.
"Will it be the prickly, thin-skinned vengeful guy we have learned to love or can he learn he has to build rather than burn bridges?" one Tallahassee political operative said to the news outlet.
Politico notes, "Fears of a vengeful DeSantis aren’t unfounded," as the governor "went after Disney after the corporate giant vowed to undo a law limiting the classroom instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity that critics called 'Don’t Say Gay.'"
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Furthermore, "DeSantis had a falling out with Susie Wiles, his 2018 campaign manager who is now a top adviser to Trump, that led him to advocate for her removal from Trump’s reelection campaign in late 2019," and "Last year, state Sen. Joe Gruters, a former chair of the Republican Party of Florida, contended that DeSantis used his line-item veto to wipe out funding for projects backed by Gruters because he endorsed Trump."
Republican state Senator Blaise Ingoglia told Politico, "If it doesn’t work out, I think we see the same Ron DeSantis as in years past. Somebody who is going to remain aggressive, someone who is going to be put his imprint on the future of Florida. He’s going to be the same Ron DeSantis. If anyone thinks differently they obviously don’t know the man."
Another Republican, State Representative Randy Fine, emphasized, "You have a choice: You can accept responsibility or you can blame others. I don’t know which he’ll choose. I hope he uses it as a learning experience."
Politico's full report is available here.
