DeSantis to Newsmax: ‘Left Is on the Run,’ Florida Elections Model for US

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis hailed his having put the left “on the run” in the state, “trailblazing for the nation,” and having an election system that should be the model that all red states should consider a blueprint to follow.

“We’ve banned ballot harvesting; we’ve banned Zuckerbucks,” DeSantis told Newsmax‘s John Bachman in a 24-minute interview that aired on Friday’s “Eric Bolling The Balance,” denouncing leftists like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg pouring hundreds of millions to put mail-in ballot dropboxes in Democrat strongholds to run up the score in the 2020 election. 

“No mass mailing of ballots. Voter ID, not just in person but for absentee ballots as well. More oversight over the signature verification process. Mandatory cleaning of the voting rolls.

“In Florida it’s transparent; it’s efficient; and people have confidence in what we’re doing.”

And Democrats cannot stand it, DeSantis told Bachman.

“The left is on the run here,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about. We’re delivering for people, and people are responding to what we’re doing.

“You win a big victory. We have huge supermajorities. Do something with it. Don’t just sit there and pat yourself on the back because you won.”

Just look at the protests around the Florida capital on the last day of the legislative session, DeSantis said, condemning “paid protesters” as the left’s admission they have lost.

“Some of these people are paid to be agitators, quite frankly; but, you know, with me, that has no impact,” DeSantis said. “The idea that you protest me, the idea that I’m going to trim my sails? No, that just tells me I’m over the target. And that tells me the left knows that they’re losing.

“And they have been losing in the state of Florida.”

What was once a battleground state is now a GOP stronghold, DeSantis said.

“Just a few short years ago, we were a state that was very evenly divided politically – last four years we’ve really changed that,” he continued.

“Some of these paid protests are kind of the result of that fact that they’re coming to terms with the fact that they have lost these debates.”

DeSantis hails it all in his book released this winter: “The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival.”

“The New York Times was not happy they had to put me on the bestseller list,” DeSantis said, adding GOP leaders around the country are anxious to hear what Florida is putting forward so they can emulate.

“OK, what do you guys got up your sleeve next? We’re watching,” DeSantis said leaders are telling him on his book tour that mimics a potential 2024 presidential campaign trek.

“This is trailblazing for the nation,” DeSantis said, hailing his legislative victories.

At the top is turning Florida into an education superpower in America.

“The verdict is in on whether school choice works,” DeSantis said. “We were just ranked No. 1 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report for K-12 education. That was not true when I was growing up in Florida.”

The progress is all based on old-school capitalism, too, DeSantis said.

“They’ve got to compete for your business as a parent,” he continued. “The charters have to innovate. Because the charter, if the parents don’t go to the charter, they go out of business. The private schools have to do that.

“So it’s created a very healthy competition, and you now have more opportunities on education in Florida today than I think anywhere in the country. But I think it’s way more than when I was growing up as a kid, and the results prove that.”

Other wins were cutting tolls 50% and cutting taxes, including making all baby item purchases tax-free to make the state “family friendly.”

“When you think about it, what’s one of the biggest problems with our country? Bidenflation,” DeSantis said, hitting President Joe Biden’s economic failures, rising interest rates, and soaring inflation.

It all happens throughout America if the elections can be made free, fair, and efficient like that have in Florida versus another battleground state like Arizona, according to DeSantis.

When Bachman asked why Arizona’s GOP leaders have failed to follow the Florida “blueprint” on elections, DeSantis replied, “I think it’s a great question. It’s disappointing, because you know why California doesn’t want to do that, right? Because they’re run by hard-left people.

“Arizona had a Republican majority and a Republican governor, and even the counties — some of the big counties — were run by Republicans. Why they didn’t fix from 2020 from 2022 I have no idea, but it is very disappointing to see.

“Because, look, we understand that we’re behind the eight ball when you’re talking about these deep-blue jurisdictions, but a red jurisdiction ought to be able to get this in order.”

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