MIDLAND, Mich. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis touted recent GOP victories in the sunshine state as a roadmap for national Republican wins as he spoke Thursday to a packed crowd of Michigan Republicans.
In his nearly hour-long address, the potential presidential candidate pointed to Florida's pandemic policies, recent controversial changes to the state's education laws and state election wins as a remedy for Republicans who have "developed a culture of losing."
"The stakes are high," DeSantis said at the Midland County Republican Party Dave Camp Spring Breakfast. "I think what we showed in Florida is that if you show bold leadership, if you pursue a bold agenda, you can beat these people. We beat them in the state of Florida."
The second-term governor, whose approach to the pandemic has been contrasted against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's strict executive orders in Michigan, last year won a second term as Florida's governor. DeSantis has not formally entered the presidential race in which former President Donald Trump is already campaigning. But 18 Republican state lawmakers in Michigan in December signed a letter encouraging him to run.
During his Thursday morning speech, DeSantis said Florida "played an important role in the history of our country" during the COVID-19 pandemic and as a foil to the Democratic policies that unfurled over the past few years. He said the state became a "promised land" for individuals looking for a different approach to education, economic policy, public safety and the pandemic response.
"We were not going to let the state of Florida descend into some kind of Faucian dystopia," DeSantis said.
In the early days of the pandemic, DeSantis lagged other governors including Whitmer in declaring a lockdown on April 1 to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In less than a month, on April 29, 2020, the governor moved to lift the lockdown on most parts of Florida, arguing that he wanted to "promote business operation and economic recovery while maintaining focus on core safety principles."
DeSantis was the keynote speaker at the Midland County Republican Party's Dave Camp Spring breakfast, an event named after former U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, a Republican who served in Congress for more than two decades. The Florida governor was expected to speak later Thursday at Hillsdale College.
DeSantis focused his comments Thursday morning largely on victories in his home state but argued the approach used to gain those wins could be applied in other states and to the bureaucracy of Washington, D.C.
"President Reagan used to say, when he came on the scene, the most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help,'" DeSantis said. "The difference between his time and our time is I think the bureaucratic power of the federal government has been weaponized to basically represent one faction of society and that is being wielded against other factions of society."
DeSantis was greeted in Midland by a few dozen protesters lining the road outside the event center where the breakfast took place — a crowd that he jokingly said he thought would be larger.
Wrapped in a rainbow flag, Christine Brennan stood outside the event center with a crowd of demonstrators. The 69-year-old Midland woman and retired social worker said she was at the event to protest the governor's signing of a law last year that prohibited instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade.
"It's a little disturbing when any candidate decides to eliminate people's right to be who they are and to education," Brennan said. "This is 2023 and we can't say 'gay' in elementary?"
Florida supporters have said the law is meant to let parents decide when and in what way to introduce LGBTQ topics to their children, with DeSantis saying the topic was "inappropriate" for certain children.
The Michigan Democratic Party in a media call ahead of DeSantis' comments attacked the Florida governor for his anti-abortion policies, contrasting his stance with Whitmer, who signed legislation Wednesday repealing the state's 1931 abortion ban. Michigan voters approved a proposed amendment in 2022 to put abortion rights in Michigan's Constitution.
"As Democrats return reproductive freedom back to Michiganders, one thing is clear: We will not stand for MAGA extremists like Ron DeSantis trying to impose his far-right agenda on our state," Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said in a statement.
Inside the event center in Midland, his welcome was much warmer as Michigan Republicans lauded his Florida policies. State Rep. Bill G. Schuette said Michigan could "use some sunshine state mojo right here in the state of Michigan."
The first-term lawmaker contrasted DeSantis' approach to the pandemic to Whitmer's, who drew national attention for her strict executive orders and instances where her administration flouted those orders. In March 2021, the governor traveled to Florida to visit her father, whom she said was ill, during a time when her health department was advising people to avoid out-of-state travel.
"Even Gov. Whitmer took a trip to Florida to escape her own lockdowns," Schuette said.
Trump is considered the front-runner in the GOP primary presidential race, even after facing 34 charges of falsifying business records filed earlier this week in New York state. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Kristina Karamo emphasized that the state party will not endorse in any primaries, but she said DeSantis had done a "great job" as governor of Florida and said the visits of potential candidates to Michigan ensure the state has a place at the table.
"That says a lot regarding Michigan's place in the presidential election," Karamo said. "It means that Michigan is on the map and that Michigan residents have an opportunity to have their voices heard. So it's important for me as chair to be here to see and to hear what everyone has to say."
Discussions are active about whether Michigan Republicans will select a candidate via a traditional presidential primary election or by delegate votes at a caucus, Karamo said. The decision comes as the Democratic-controlled Legislature earlier this year voted to set the state's presidential primary for Feb. 27, which conflicts with Republican National Committee policy.
"We don't want to be rash," Karamo said. "There's so many things to consider. There's so many potential downsides of either scenario. We want to ensure that whatever we go in it best benefits the people of Michigan."
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(Staff Writer Craig Mauger contributed.
