Ron DeSantis Risks Spreading Himself Too Thin

While Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has not officially announced his candidacy for a 2024 presidential run, he has already faced criticism for leaving his constituents behind for what appears to be the prelude to a national campaign.

To promote his book, The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival, DeSantis embarked on a national tour, visiting numerous states including Georgia, Texas, California and Alabama. He has also spoken to influential police unions in New York and in the suburbs of Philadelphia and Chicago to discuss policies that he says have protected law enforcement in the Sunshine State.

While it remains to be seen if DeSantis' promotional events have helped his potential White House ambitions, some of the governor's critics have suggested he is forgetting his own constituents in an attempt to increase his name recognition.

"Appearing to look like he is neglecting his duties running the state gives his potential primary opponents easy material with which to criticize him," David B. Cohen, professor of political science at the University of Akron in Ohio, told Newsweek.

As Florida's Fort Lauderdale experienced severe flooding after more than 20 inches of rain fell on the evening of April 12 in a matter of hours, DeSantis was in Ohio to attend a Butler County Republican Party event.

Former President Donald Trump, who leads in the polls ahead of the 2024 GOP primary, was quick to use DeSantis' absence to criticize the governor.

"[...W]hile Fort Lauderdale is facing the worst flooding in 100 years, DeSanctus is on tour with his 'shadow' campaign for president, instead of taking care of the people of Florida," Trump posted on Truth Social on April 13.

Trump repeated the criticism in an interview with the right-wing news site Breitbart.
"He shouldn't be campaigning right now," Trump said of DeSantis. "He should be there."

Donald Trump Jr., the former president's eldest son, also targeted DeSantis for not being in Florida.

"Fort Lauderdale is under water and DeSantis is campaigning in Ohio right now instead of taking care of the people suffering in his state," Trump Jr. tweeted on April 13.

Democratic state Senator Shevrin Jones added it was "disgraceful and telling" that the Republican chose to go to Ohio rather than remain in Florida. "He has failed as a leader," he wrote.

Chipping Away at the Governor's Image

In a statement, DeSantis' office dismissed the criticism, noting how the "unprecedented flooding intensified" after DeSantis had already left for Ohio, and that the governor returned to Florida the next day. DeSantis had also declared a state of emergency in Broward County, where Fort Lauderdale is located, and authorized that the state's emergency preparedness and response fund pay for disaster relief.

DeSantis is popular with voters in Florida, as seen with his crushing reelection victory over Democrat Charlie Crist in the midterms in November 2022. Still, he could be at risk of alienating voters in the key 2024 state of Florida by pursuing a national campaign push at the apparent detriment of governing.

"The governor is in a tough place currently with the natural disaster in Fort Lauderdale coinciding with his travels as part of his book tour and pre-presidential campaign," Joshua Scacco, associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Communication at the University of South Florida, told Newsweek.

"This situation is not unlike other instances where the governor has similarly had to negotiate campaigning for governor with natural disasters like hurricanes in Florida," said Scacco. "The difference is the governor's travels now bring him out of state, whereas his previous campaigns during hurricane season were state-based. This difference is important for the image of responsiveness and leadership, which the governor has tried to carefully cultivate in the state of Florida."

Scacco added that DeSantis' political opponents are using the out-of-state travel to "chip away" at the governor's image after he was praised for his response to previous natural disasters in the state.

"By drawing focus to his absence from the state, particularly in conservative information circles, the governor's opponents are attempting to go after the executive leadership qualities and traits that many associate with the presidency," Scacco said.

'Silly Unforced Error'

David B. Cohen, political science professor, added that DeSantis being in Ohio while parts of Florida were flooding will give his GOP opponents "plenty of evidence" to use against him on the campaign trail.

"It's a silly unforced error and is surprising given DeSantis has quite a bit of experience campaigning for high offices," he said. "It's a very bad look for a governor to appear to be indifferent to the plight of his state's own residents-especially a place like Florida which is still trying to recover from Hurricane Ian."

Several local figures did not condemn DeSantis for his response to the flooding.

Fort Lauderdale's Democratic mayor, Dean Trantalis, said in an April 13 press conference that DeSantis had not yet called him about the clean-up to the flooding, but he was "not sure if the governor himself needs to be involved."

"The state agencies have been very helpful in working with us to take on this challenge," Trantalis said.

Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy, another Democrat, also did not criticize DeSantis, saying state officials have responded appropriately so far.

"I'm not putting this on the governor. Everyone has all hands on deck," he said. "I don't think it's time to point political fingers. It's time to respond to the disaster."

Sean Freeder, assistant professor of political science at the University of North Florida, suggested that trying to campaign while maintaining an elected position could prove to be a "double-edged sword" for DeSantis, but that any criticism he receives about visiting Ohio would not matter to the GOP presidential primary in the long run.

"Ultimately, when Republicans go to vote in the primary in the beginning of 2024, whether the governor called the mayor of Fort Lauderdale, or was generally distracted on a book tour, is not likely to be a big deciding factor for most of those voters," Freeder told Newsweek.

"Any personality and policy differences between DeSantis, Trump, and the other candidates will dwarf such an effect, especially alongside the money and endorsements these candidates have managed to attract.

"Similarly, the legislative agenda that DeSantis signs off on during that period, including constitutional carry and six-week abortion laws, not to mention bills dealing with higher education, will also make much more of a difference."

While Trump, who does not hold any political office, may try to use DeSantis' national campaigning as ammunition by suggesting he is ignoring his own constituents, the former president will certainly have his own issues to deal with.

Freeder suggested that by the time the first-in-the-nation Republican presidential primary caucus in Iowa takes place in February 2024, the various lawsuits and charges Trump will be facing by then will constitute a "much larger story than DeSantis being distracted" in early 2023.

"Trump may have some small advantage in not having to deal with the work of governing right now. That advantage is more than negatively offset by having to deal with one or several court cases, as well as his general record as a former president and a frequent controversial media figure," Freeder said.