Culture wars take center stage in Florida’s governor race between DeSantis and Crist

Judy Woodruff:

Politics briefly took a backseat in Florida last month when Hurricane Ian and devastated parts of the state. But candidates are now back out on the trail in full force, making their cases to voters and races up and down the ticket.

Amna Nawaz traveled to the Sunshine State recently, and she has our look at the race for governor.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL):

We will leave no doubt that the state of Florida is free and it is free to stay. Thank you all.

Amna Nawaz:

Home to ultra-competitive races and electoral recounts, Florida has long been the crown jewel of battleground states. But a high-profile governor's race this cycle is a sign of shifting political tides.

Gov. Ron DeSantis:

We're not going to let this state descend into some type of woke dumpster fire.

Amna Nawaz:

Governor Ron DeSantis is seeking his second term after winning by less than half-a-percentage point in 2018. Since then, he's become one of the Republican Party's biggest stars and a potential presidential candidate in 2020.

Speaker:

He's for the people.

Amna Nawaz:

At a rally in deep blue Broward County, hundreds of supporters lined up for hours to see the governor speak.

Lisa Beche, DeSantis Supporter:

Like President Trump, he's speaking for the majority.

Andrea Bellitto, DeSantis Supporter:

Our country's in trouble. We're — we feel we're not in trouble. We feel blessed to have Ron DeSantis.

Amna Nawaz:

"NewsHour"'s multiple requests for an interview with Governor DeSantis were all declined.

State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia (R-FL):

Florida is no longer a purple state. It's a red state now.

Amna Nawaz:

State Representative Blaise Ingoglia led Florida's Republican Party from 2015 through DeSantis' inauguration in 2019. He says the governor's bare-knuckled approach has reenergized the base.

State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia:

For years, people who follow the Republican Party, Republicans, even Republican elected officials, were very frustrated with people that were just sitting back not taking action, not pushing back against media narratives, not pushing back against poor policies, not pushing back against D.C.

Amna Nawaz:

In his first term, DeSantis leaned into divisive social issues and controversial policies, fervently opposing COVID protections, including lockdowns, masks and vaccine mandates, imposing severe restrictions on educators' speech, on gender identity, sexual orientation and racism in schools.

DeSantis also launched a state-funded electoral fraud unit, despite no evidence of widespread fraud, then arrested 20 people in August. As this police bodycam footage shows, many were unaware they'd run afoul of voting rules because they had been issued registration cards.

Speaker:

I'm like, voter fraud? I voted, but I ain't fraud — commit no fraud.

Gov. Ron DeSantis:

This is the opening salvo. This is not the sum total of 2020.

Amna Nawaz:

And, in September, DeSantis spent millions of dollars to fly migrant families from the Southern border to distant Democratic cities without warning. The first two flights abandoned 49 migrants in Martha's Vineyard. Federal and Texas local officials are now investigating the flight's legality.

A spokeswoman for Governor DeSantis said more flights are planned ahead of the election.

You look at the flying of migrant populations from Texas up to Martha's Vineyard purely for a political message, is that kind of cruelty necessary in this?

State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia:

So, I don't think it's a political message. What I think that is, is exposing the hypocrisy of the left.

Amna Nawaz:

How is that not politics?

State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia:

It's not politics, because it's policy. It is in our budget. We have actually appropriated money to do just that. And it's meant to send a message. And I think that's what the governor did was expose the hypocrisy of those coastal elites.

Amna Nawaz:

Meanwhile, Florida Democrats looking to beat DeSantis this fall have returned to a familiar face.

Fmr. Gov. Charlie Crist (D-FL), Gubernatorial Candidate: We're not going back. We're going to go forward in this election.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Amna Nawaz:

Former Republican Governor Charlie Crist is making his third bid to lead the state. He served from 2007 to 2011, then switched parties in 2012. As a Democrat, he lost the 2014 governor's race by one point to current Senator Rick Scott. Two years later, he was elected to Congress and resigned earlier this year to focus on his gubernatorial run.

We caught up with Crist at a rally in Orlando.

You have never won statewide office as a Democrat.

Fmr. Gov. Charlie Crist:

Right.

Amna Nawaz:

What makes you think this time is different?

Fmr. Gov. Charlie Crist:

Because this is the charm. I feel it. I really do.

Amna Nawaz:

He says this race is about human decency.

Fmr. Gov. Charlie Crist:

I wear this yellow wristband every day. It talks about what I was raised on, the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have done unto you.

I know that's what America deserves. And I'm damn sure it's what Florida deserves. We need a governor who's got a heart and really cares about people, doesn't beat up on LGBTQ and doesn't beat up on African Americans and their right to vote. That choice issue has never been on the ballot in the last 50 years.

It has energized and galvanized people, voters all across the state of Florida, like I have never seen before.

Amna Nawaz:

Earlier this year, Florida passed a 15-week abortion ban with medical exemptions, but no exceptions for rape or incest.

Fmr. Gov. Charlie Crist:

This current governor, DeSantis, talks about freedom? What a hypocrite. Apparently, we're not free if you're a woman.

Amna Nawaz:

Crist is hoping the issue drives women and younger voters his way, but he faces some stiff headwinds. Polls have consistently shown DeSantis leading by an average of more than seven points, according to FiveThirtyEight.

DeSantis currently has over $100 million in his campaign war chest, about 35 times more than Crist. And, last year, the GOP gained an edge on the voter rolls. Registered Republicans now outnumber registered Democrats in Florida by more than 270,000.

Miami-Dade, Florida's largest county, is one example of Republicans gaining ground in the state. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won this county by 29 points. Four years later, in 2020, Joe Biden still won, but by only seven points.

Al Cardenas, Former Florida Republican Party Chairman:

I think DeSantis wins by four or five points.

Amna Nawaz:

Former Florida Republican Party Chair Al Cardenas says the state's rightward shift has been a long time coming.

Al Cardenas:

Florida, in addition to our good climate, has had a fairly robust economy over the last 20 years, driven by our hospitality industry, by our agricultural industry, by real estate.

And so, if you're the majority party, you ride that wave.

Amna Nawaz:

But the party's focus on divisive social issues led him to endorse a Democrat in one congressional race.

You have backed a Democrat this cycle.

Al Cardenas:

I backed one Democrat, yes. And…

Amna Nawaz:

Why would a leader of the Republican Party back a Democratic candidate?

Al Cardenas:

It's my way to send a message to Republicans to stop this culture war stuff. It's just mean-spirited. It divides America in ways that are not healthy. And it's not who we are as a country. So that's why I did it.

Amna Nawaz:

Peeling off moderate Republicans is one part of Democrats' strategy here in Florida, according to progressive state Representative Anna Eskamani.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-FL):

I do feel like those Floridians that maybe voted for Trump, voter for DeSantis are kind of tired of the constant culture war, of just the pure exhaustion of divisiveness, that Charlie is someone who can have that appeal.

Amna Nawaz:

But, Eskamani, at 32, is one of the party's youngest elected officials. Over the long term, she says, Democrats need to rebuild infrastructure to regain lost ground.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani:

We're building a bench, and that does take time.

But I will say that, in Florida, we are looking at a political landscape where a lot of folks have run us off. They see more potential in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, even. And so we are seeing the national infrastructure also kind of look at Florida and say, we're going to move on, which is really, really bad, because Florida is the firewall between freedom and fascism.

Amna Nawaz:

Speculation over a 2024 presidential run by DeSantis and possible primary challenge to former President Trump has hovered over this race.

In this crowd, that idea drew caution.

You think he should run for president in '24?

Hugo E. Vargas, DeSantis Supporter:

No, 2028, 2028.

Amna Nawaz:

Twenty-eight. Why?

Hugo E. Vargas:

Yes. I got to give Trump won more time.

Amna Nawaz:

Well before any decisions for 2024, Floridians will first cast their ballots in these high-stakes contests. Mail-in voting is now under way.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Amna Nawaz in Coral Springs, Florida.