Ahead of a widely expected presidential bid, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took his message to Davenport, Iowa, on Friday. His first visit to the state that is expected to kick off the Republican nominating contest.
"We went from winning by 32,000 votes in 2018 to winning by 1.5 million votes in 2022," said DeSantis, touching on his resounding re-election victory last year.
He also brought up his record during the COVID pandemic.
"We were a citadel of freedom for people all over this country and even around the world that would come. We refused to let our state descend into some type of Fauci-ian dystopia," said DeSantis.
And cemented his stance on cultural flashpoint issues that are critical to Republican voters.
"It is wrong to have gender ideology imposed in our schools, and in Florida, we don't let it happen. We have fought the fight, and we're going to do more," said DeSantis. "We will fight the woke legislature; we will fight the woke in education; we will fight the woke and the businesses; we will never ever surrender to the woke mob; our state is where woke goes to die."
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His visit comes as the 2024 Republican presidential field continues to take shape. On Monday, former president Donald Trump will make his first campaign stop in Iowa since announcing his candidacy.
His former Vice President Mike Pence has also made trips to the key presidential primary state. As well as Republican Senator Tim Scott, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and recently declared White House hopeful Nikki Haley.
"I think it’s like 75 in South Carolina; I don’t know what it is here, but it’s cold!" said Haley during her trip.
The recent spike in activity comes as Democrats push to move Iowa out of its traditional position as the pivotal kickoff to the presidential campaign, placing South Carolina’s primary as their first in the nation nominating contest.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is expected to announce his own re-election in the coming weeks.
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