WASHINGTON — Florida is a "refuge of sanity" and a place where "woke goes to die," Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said after winning reelection last week. California is a "true freedom state" that rejects "demonization coming from the other side," Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom promised.
The two governors' declarations of independence are only the latest signs that the next two years' fiercest political battles will be fought not in Washington, but between clashing states.
Divided government is returning to the nation's capital. President Joe Biden, who will turn 80 on Sunday and is suffering from low polling numbers amid high inflation, is seen as vulnerable by members of both parties, giving him less leverage to find common ground with Republicans, who will narrowly control the House of Representatives.
