Although Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has indicated his primary focus is on his reelection bid for the governor’s mansion, DeSantis is leaning into culture wars that would be far more significant in a Presidential campaign.
On Thursday (August 4), DeSantis suspended a Tampa-area elected state attorney for his failure to implement the state’s abortion and transgender surgery bans.
His decision to suspend Andrew Warren, effective immediately, came after Warren signed a letter pledging not to prosecute those providing or seeking an abortion.
But Thursday’s suspension follows a long list of more culture-focused decisions that have only elevated DeSantis’s reputation in the GOP as a leader willing to pursue more conservative values.
President of the American Principles Project, a conservative grassroots organization, Terry Schilling noted how DeSantis’s moves send a “message to Republican voters and to the American people that he is a leader, and he is willing to make very difficult decisions that many other elected officials aren’t and he is willing to fire people who people think are untouchable, and that is crucial for someone that’s going to run for president in 2024.”
The message, which was billed as official business, is — according to pundits — DeSantis’ efforts to appeal to conservative GOP voters on a national scale.
The move, however, was criticized by Democrats, with outspoken DeSantis critic and member of the Democratic National Committee calling Thursday’s announcement a “political stunt” aimed at “Republican voters in early primary states.”
