DeSantis Will Focus On Abortion, Gun Rights And Union-Busting In Second Term Ahead Of Likely 2024 Run

Topline

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was sworn in for his second gubernatorial term on Tuesday, kicking off a term that’s likely to include major hot-button issues like abortion, gun rights and Covid-19 vaccines as the Republican official attempts to curry favor with the GOP base ahead of an anticipated 2024 presidential run.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waves to the crowd after being sworn in to begin his second term during an … [+] inauguration ceremony on Jan. 3 in Tallahassee, Florida.

Key Facts

DeSantis described Florida as the “promised land of sanity” in his inaugural address Tuesday, saying the state would continue to “reject…woke ideology” and calling Florida “where woke goes to die.”

The governor is expected to continue the state’s culture wars with the left and take aim at issues like LGBTQ rights, as he did in his first term with the state’s Parental Rights in Education law, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law: DeSantis said Tuesday the state would not let schools be focused on “the imposition of trendy ideology” and “will defend our children against those who seek to rob them of their innocence,” and his administration recently launched an investigation into a family-friendly holiday drag show.

DeSantis has previously said he intends to push legislation that would allow people to carry firearms without a concealed carry license, saying in December that the policy is “something that I’ve always supported” and that the legislature would take it up during its regular session, which begins in March.

Florida may impose greater abortion restrictions that ban the procedure as soon as six weeks into a pregnancy—the state already bans abortion at 15 weeks—with the Tallahassee Democrat reporting in October that officials in DeSantis’ administration have already been holding “strategy sessions” with anti-abortion advocates and the governor saying in December that he was “willing to sign great life legislation.”

DeSantis promised in December to sign legislation into law that would take aim at teachers’ unions by prohibiting automatic deductions of union dues from teachers’ salaries, after teachers unions in the state previously opposed the governor as he fought back against Covid-19 measures like mask mandates in schools.

DeSantis also called in December for a grand jury to investigate purported issues linked to Covid-19 vaccines, which will be impaneled this year after the Florida Supreme Court agreed to the governor’s request.

Big Number

33%. That’s the share of potential GOP primary voters who would vote for DeSantis as of December 20, according to a Morning Consult poll, versus 48% who would support former President Donald Trump. Other recent polls have shown DeSantis with a lead over Trump, with a USA Today/Suffolk University poll released December 13 finding that 56% of Republican voters polled preferred DeSantis to Trump.

What To Watch For

Florida’s Republican-controlled state legislature will convene for its general session on March 7, which is when lawmakers and DeSantis are expected to take action on major issues like abortion and gun rights legislation. It’s possible lawmakers and DeSantis could move on those issues even sooner, however, as Politico reported in mid-December there have been “rumblings” that lawmakers will hold special legislative sessions to tackle guns and abortion before the general session gets underway.

What We Don’t Know

When DeSantis could announce a 2024 presidential run. Some political analysts have speculated that if the governor chooses to run for president, he will wait until after the state’s general legislative session ends in May to launch his campaign. The governor is also currently subject to a Florida law that states state officials must commit to resigning if they run for a federal office. State lawmakers in Florida have signaled a willingness to repeal that law to help DeSantis, however, and he could wait until that happens before he announces his 2024 campaign so as to ensure he can remain in office in the meantime.

Tangent

Another issue DeSantis may push this term is the Florida government’s ongoing battle against Disney, after the company publicly opposed the “Don’t Say Gay” law and DeSantis and Republican lawmakers retaliated by moving to get rid of the special district that governs Walt Disney World. That district, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, is set to be dissolved in June, though the Financial Times reported in December that lawmakers were now seeking to negotiate with Disney and keep the district intact after former Disney CEO Bob Chapek was replaced by returning CEO Bob Iger. DeSantis’ office denied those reports, insisting the governor “does not make ‘U-turns’” and still intended to punish the media giant.

Key Background

DeSantis was first elected as governor in 2018 and quickly gained national attention in his first term through a series of controversial policies like attacks on Covid-19 restrictions—imposing measures like bans on school mask mandates and vaccine requirements—and the “Don’t Say Gay” law that have drawn criticism. He’s also drawn scrutiny for repeated retaliation against political opponents, such as Disney and county prosecutor Andrew Warren, whom DeSantis suspended in August after he signed an open letter in support of abortion rights. While DeSantis has long been viewed as the GOP’s primary alternative to Trump in the 2024 presidential election, his chances of success rose considerably as a result of the 2022 midterms, in which he sailed to reelection by a 20-point margin while Trump was widely blamed for the party’s failures in other races across the country. The ex-president has started lashing out at DeSantis, whom he once endorsed, as a result, calling him “DeSanctimonious” and “disloyal” in the wake of the midterms as his star in the GOP has started to fade.