Republicans owe their House majority to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who stood against his own party’s lawmakers to win the House for the GOP in the midterm elections.
Florida Republicans drew congressional maps in the build-up of the midterm elections, but DeSantis declined to sign those maps and instead proposed the revisions.
The changes made by DeSantis helped Republicans in winning at least four House seats in the midterm elections and, thus, the House majority. Nationwide, Republicans praise DeSantis for his foresightedness, which saved the GOP in the midterms.
DeSantis Won the House For Republicans
Republicans won the House by the narrowest of margins in the midterm elections. Even a couple of seats going the other way around would have been curtains for Republicans.
Now that Republicans have officially won the House, political observers are praising Ron DeSantis for proposing redistricting maps that won the House for the GOP.
According to Congressman Vern Buchanan, the GOP owes the House majority to DeSantis, adding that 20 Republicans won in Florida in 2022, while only eight Democrats emerged victorious.
Only one state, Texas, has more Republican lawmakers all over the United States, Buchanan added. Buchanan is likely to become the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee once Republicans control the House.
Similarly, Dan Conston, the president of the Congressional Leadership Fund, stated Republicans’ gains in New York and Florida are the primary reasons for the GOP’s victory in House elections.
Furthermore, Conston asserted Florida’s new congressional maps helped Republicans in flipping the House.
Who could have predicted the Republican majority in Congress would hinge on Ron Desantis’ insistence that their legislature draw better maps (+4 R seats), and the coat tails Republicans enjoyed due to his popularity in Florida. Add to that competent Florida elections.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) November 14, 2022
DeSantis vetoed the maps drawn by Republican lawmakers in Florida and convened a special legislative session to redraw the maps. Once DeSantis made his own maps, left-leaning groups sued the governor while accusing him of backing racist voting practices.
However, the Florida Supreme Court allowed the state to hold midterm elections as per DeSantis maps, which eventually paved the way for the Republican House victory.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' redistricting map helped GOP win House majority. https://t.co/hzUoAakbhm pic.twitter.com/3RbpfqbMXe
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) November 17, 2022
DeSantis’s Midterm Performance Makes Him a Favorite for 2024
Even in his gubernatorial election, DeSantis only lost four counties to his Democratic competitor, Charlie Crist, which helped him to win the governorship by more than 1.5 million votes.
DeSantis’ performance as the governor of Florida also helped Republicans in capturing the House in the elections. In 2018, Florida was considered a hotly contested state, as Democrats were performing well for most of the congressional seats in the state.
However, within the last four years, DeSantis made Florida a deep red state, as Republican candidates won their elections decisively in this year’s midterm elections.
Reportedly, DeSantis’ exceptional performance in delivering results in the midterm elections will also help him in his possible 2024 presidential run.
Many conservatives and right-leaning donors who are finding a replacement for Trump are expected to bandwagon DeSantis’ presidential campaign as soon as he launches it.
This article appeared in Right Wing Insider and has been published here with permission.
