NEW YORK — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave a tantalizing account of his state to a roomful of New York Republicans and the three GOP candidates making uphill runs for statewide office this year.
He boasted of a big Republican shift in Florida since his narrow win in 2018 that has turned an evenly divided electorate into one with 1.5 million more GOP voters than Democrats. He touted his state’s booming growth and a state budget less than half the size of New York’s, despite having 4 million more people.
And he repeatedly tweaked New York for losing residents to Florida, joking those departures were why he readily agreed to address the annual dinner for the New York Republican State Committee.
“How can I turn down an opportunity to address some of my future residents?” DeSantis quipped.
The second-term governor was the keynote speaker on Tuesday, May 19, at the Republican gathering at The Plaza hotel in midtown Manhattan. DeSantis led a night of speeches that also featured the party’s candidates for governor, comptroller and attorney general — offices that no Republican has won in New York since George Pataki claimed a third term as governor in 2002.
GOP paints dire picture of NY’s future if it loses in November
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who’s taking on Gov. Kathy Hochul, declared his slate’s campaigns “a fight for the heart and soul of our state,” and painted a dire picture of what will ensue in New York if they lose in November.
“This is a fight we all better get into, because if we don’t win this state will not be a state where we will want to raise our children or grandchildren,” Blakeman said. “This will be a state of despair, hopelessness, poverty and lawlessness.”
Hochul’s campaign fired a preemptive shot even before the first hors d’oeuvres were passed at The Plaza, mocking Blakeman and DeSantis for what it called “America’s saddest MAGA avengers tour.”
“We’re thrilled Bruce Blakeman and Ron DeSantis found each other,” campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement. “Few people understand each other better than two grown men willing to humiliate themselves, rip away their own constituents’ health care, and jack up costs just for a pat on the head from Donald Trump.”
Hochul led Blakeman by 16 percentage points in the latest Siena College poll released May 5, and their race has been rated “solidly Democratic” by forecasters at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by about 2 to 1 in New York.
What else did DeSantis say at NY GOP gala?
DeSantis, 47, is finishing his second term and will leave office in December due to Florida’s term limits for governor. He ran for president in 2023 and 2024 — dropping out early in the voting after Donald Trump crushed him in the opening Iowa caucuses — and may make another go in 2028, though he dropped no hints about his political plans at the gala in New York City.
What he did was serve dining Republicans plenty of red meat.
He boasted of Florida’s newly gerrymandered House map to favor Republicans, and mocked Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries for daring him to redraw the districts. He bragged he had defeated “the woke mind virus,” booted progressive prosecutors from office, and forced reviews for tenured professors at state universities that can result in their termination.
And he joked that he takes his cues from Democratic-led New York, California and Illinois by doing the opposite of whatever they do.
DeSantis tried to encourage the audience of New Yorkers by saying no one anticipated in 2018 the coming Republican shift in Florida. “So people are going to say it can’t be done,” he said. “I’m going to tell you, this state is ripe for change. We’ve seen how it’s not worked in all these other places.”
“We will continue to lead in Florida,” he added. “You guys are going to continue to turn over a better leaf in New York.”
Who are the NY GOP candidates for AG, comptroller?
Saritha Komatireddy is the Republican opponent for Attorney General Letitia James, who has held that office since 2019 and is seeking a third term in November. She’s a law firm partner who previously worked as chief of staff for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and as a federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York for more than 10 years.
Joseph Hernandez is the Republican candidate for comptroller, the fiscal watchdog that audits state agencies and local governments and manages New York’s giant public pension fund. He’s an entrepreneur and investor who runs Blue Water Venture Partners, a biotech investment firm he founded.
Tom DiNapoli has been New York’s comptroller since 2007 and he faces a three-way Democratic primary on June 23 against challengers Drew Warshaw and Raj Goyle. The winner will compete with Hernandez in November.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA TODAY Network. Reach him at CMcKenna@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: DeSantis touts GOP gains in Florida to cheer NY Republicans at gala
Reporting by Chris McKenna, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
