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Ron DeSantis could be losing support in Florida after abandoning unpopular plans to build golf courses on state parks and since losing the Republican presidential nomination to Donald Trump, according to reports.
The governor faced huge backlash recently to a proposal to roll out golf courses and hotels in Florida’s state parks – and now some Republicans have indicated DeSantis could be running out of road.
“I wouldn’t call him a lame duck, but there’s a shelf life,” one Republican consultant in Tallahassee anonymously told Politico.
DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race in January after coming in second at the Iowa caucuses and ahead of the Republican primary in New Hampshire, where he was only polling single digits.
Setbacks in his home state could impact his anticipated run for the presidency in 2028, according to the outlet.
James Miller, a political consultant who once worked for the Republican Party of Florida, suggested to Politico that DeSantis could be losing some influence.
“I don’t think the backlash about parks was about him being a lame duck,” he said. “But I also do think that when the governor was tone-deaf in the past, people would go along with it. And now they’re positioning themselves for their political futures and you won’t see them do that.”
The governor came under fire after school board candidates he backed in the primary earlier this month underperformed. And he has faced fierce criticism from Randy Fine – the legislature’s only Jewish Republican – for a trip he took to Ireland because it recognizes Palestine as a country.
In a blow to DeSantis, Fine backed Donald Trump for the presidency, claiming the “choice as Jews is simple…When it comes to action, Donald Trump has never let us down.”
Speaking to the Tampa Bay Times, Fine also criticized DeSantis’s handling of the state parks proposals. “It’s a reaction to a cultural problem that the DeSantis administration has had for a long time, which is that they don’t talk to anybody,” he said. “You’d think if you were going to propose major changes to a state park in someone’s district, you’d give them a heads up.”
And there could be more setbacks to come. DeSantis scored a conservative win when Florida passed a six-week abortion ban in May, but voters will have a chance to undo this when they vote on Amendment 4 in November, which could protect abortion access until around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
In another potential blow, he is opposed to legalizing recreational marijuana for anyone over the age of 21 – another initiative which could pass in November.
Dismissing reports he is losing his grip, DeSantis said it was just “chatter”. He told a press conference on Thursday: “I’ve never categorized it as me having a grip on anything, I’m the governor, I discharge the duties of my office.
“I have the ability to set the agenda and deliver that agenda. And I can tell you there is not another governor in the country that has delivered more than we have since I’ve been in. That’s just the reality.”
He added: “I don’t read the chatter, I don’t listen to the chatter. … If you listen to the chatter you’re not going to be able to get the job done.”
