Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing to become an omnipresent force in Florida politics with loyalists at all levels of government who will push his agenda. He’s taken a page out of the playbook of the man whose support thrust him into political stardom four years ago, Donald Trump.
Endorsements in local races are their most effective tools in wielding power down to the most granular level of how communities are run in Florida. And that strategy is working.
In Miami-Dade County, two DeSantis-backed school board members prevailed in the Tuesday primaries. Teacher Monica Colucci ousted 24-year incumbent Marta Perez, a conservative who fell out of grace with the GOP after voting for a mask mandate last year. Of the 30 candidates DeSantis endorsed statewide, 19 won outright and six are headed to runoffs, the Herald reported.
