Republican Field Grows for Governor’s Race
U.S. Representative Ron DeSantis has filed to run for governor in 2018, joining Florida’s current Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam. In addition, Florida Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran has been rumored as a likely candidate, although he has not formally joined the race.
DeSantis received a boost in name recognition when President Donald Trump recently tweeted his view that DeSantis would make an excellent governor. DeSantis soon followed by announcing a list of prominent financial backers and formally launching his campaign.
“As somebody who is a military officer, an Iraq veteran, a proven conservative, and then with the support of the president, I’m in a position to exercise the leadership that can build on the great work that Gov. Rick Scott has done to advance economic opportunity, reform education and to drain the swamp in Tallahassee, which needs to be drained just like Washington,” DeSantis said during a recent television appearance.
DeSantis is a former Navy lawyer who received a history degree from Yale University and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
As expected, DeSantis’ candidacy drew criticism from Democrats. “Ron DeSantis running as Trump’s hand-picked candidate with the backing of out-of-state billionaires may endear him to the most partisan primary voters, but he is too extreme for Florida,” said Democrat candidate Gwen Graham.