Politico’s Florida-based Marc Caputo is reporting that a new poll of Florida Republicans shows that Gov. Ron DeSantis is more popular than Donald Trump (!!!):
Oops. I should’ve included the FL GOP poll, conducted by @ryan_tyson for a private client who then gave it to me, that shows DeSantis more popular than Trump
It’s remarkable because Trump won FL in 20 by a bigger margin than Obama did in 2008 pic.twitter.com/Xuw5DRb2Oo
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) February 16, 2021
Gov. DeSantis’ next test is the 2022 governor’s race:
The negative press and the predictions of widespread doom that never came to pass in Florida have made Gov Ron DeSantis a GOP heartthrob, strengthening him heading into his 2022 re-elect & increasing conservative buzz nationwide about a presidential bid https://t.co/rjtVoUobjH
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) February 16, 2021
Dem Nikki Fried, Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services and possible challenger in 2022, put this video out this morning going after DeSantis on his Covid response:
You won’t hear this from @GovRonDeSantis, but you need to hear it.
This pandemic has been painful. To every Floridian who's lost a loved one, lost a job, lost a way of life — you are loved. We feel your hurt.
Florida can and will do better. pic.twitter.com/ks4oFoKlLW
— Nikki Fried (@nikkifried) February 16, 2021
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But facts aren’t on her side here:
She’s a liar. The only statewide elected Dem in FL and she’s trying to crush a thriving state as she sets up her run for Governor.
How can she even tweet this with a straight face when FL is leading the nation right now because of @GovRonDeSantis? https://t.co/cAMRmSuQpH
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) February 16, 2021
At some point, Dems will have to acknowledge that Florida isn’t the hellhole they think it is, right?
This has Republicans buzzing about Fried announcing for gov. imminently
It's also interesting and targeted messaging, criticizing DeSantis on his style and empathy. Even though FL is 27th in deaths, its 3rd in total # (30k; it's the 3rd most populous state) https://t.co/BEG01gEPNH
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) February 16, 2021
More from Caputo:
2/4 Context:
FL’s the third most populous state but has the 27th highest death rate —better than every major blue stare but California, where rates have increased more than FL in recent weeks per CDC
Here’s death rate by state from CDChttps://t.co/CVJN6U6xTL pic.twitter.com/4m8rT0gEDu
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) February 16, 2021
3/4
Vaccination rates are harder to rank because the CDC site doesn’t have a chart. So I had to fill the data in manually. FL is about 16th in vaccination rates & is ahead of NY, CA and TX. Of the 10 biggest states, only MI is ahead pic.twitter.com/yAk6wfJGXo
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) February 16, 2021
4/4
And then there's unemployment, a major driver of DeSantis's popularity in the GOP. Florida's unemployment rate is 6.1%, better than the national average and ahead of every major blue state and ever other large state. It ranks 27th on the BLS chart pic.twitter.com/zRpdxrQRYs
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) February 16, 2021
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