On Feb. 21, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) released a list of school board incumbents he hopes to see defeated in the 2024 elections. DeSantis made the announcement following a meeting with state House of Representatives Speaker Paul Renner (R), Moms for Liberty co-founders Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice, and Florida Republican Party Chair Christian Ziegler.
The list includes districts in the counties of Sarasota, Hillsborough, Duval, Brevard, Miami-Dade, Volusia, and Indian River—districts DeSantis has brought up in the past.
DeSantis endorsed 34 candidates in 2022. Twenty-nine of those candidates won their elections. In the August 2022 primaries, DeSantis-backed candidates succeeded in shifting the balance of power from liberal to conservative in several districts, including Miami-Dade and Sarasota. In Sarasota County, Tom Edwards was left as the remaining Democrat on the board.
