Holly Gregory
Spectrum News Anchor

Are DeSantis' 2024 hopes dashed?

Good morning from the Florida state Capitol, where I’ve been waiting for lawmakers to wrap up the annual legislative session.

The ceremonial dropping of the hanky marked the end, followed by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ post-session news conference.

Lawmakers have helped pave the way for DeSantis to launch his bid for the presidency. It’s widely expected to come soon, although there are plenty in the pundit class that are confident DeSantis’ campaign has already crashed and burned before it launched.

Consider this roundup of headlines over the past 48 hours:

New York Times: “The Devolution of Ron DeSantis — He has become bogged down in issues that have divided Republicans in the past.”

Insider: “Ron DeSantis’ memoir could come back to bite him”

Washington Post: “How DeSantis accidentally handed Disney a potent weapon against him”

USA Today: “How Ron DeSantis’ fight against 'woke' Disney is just a P.R. Stunt.”

People: “Ron DeSantis polling at lowest levels ever ahead of anticipated, 2024 presidential campaign launch”

But these reports of DeSantis’ demise may be premature. Former President Donald Trump is certainly treating DeSantis like a formidable threat. Trump continues to unleash attack ads and blistering comments against DeSantis.

Money talks the loudest in politics, and DeSantis has the advantage here. Politico is reporting that DeSantis has twice as much money as Trump.  DeSantis has $110 million in total. That includes $80 million left over from his re-election campaign for governor. Trump’s MAGA Inc Super PAC has $55 million in the bank.

Ybeth Bruzual
Spectrum News Anchor

What comes next?

The 60-day Florida Legislative session is now over, leaving political junkies to ask: "Now what?"

I checked in with Democrats and Republicans for the answer.

In my chat with the chair of the Orange County Republican Party, Erin Huntley, I asked about former President Trump and Gov. DeSantis. Huntley said this is a great time to remind voters the party does not get involved with the primary elections.

"We have two rock stars coming out of the state of Florida. Both have achieved much success — Trump with the border situation and so many other issues, and Gov. DeSantis has been strong on education, cultural issues, safety and more," Huntley said.

Huntley, who was just elected to his GOP position in December 2022, is prepping for a big meeting coming up May 18.

In the meantime, Republicans have one goal in mind: Get people to understand Florida does it differently when it comes to getting ready for elections.

"Lots of voters from up north come here to Florida as independents and don’t know they have to be registered to an actual party to be able to vote in a PPP, presidential preference primary," Huntley said.

I couldn’t help it. As I wrapped up the interview, I asked again about former president Trump and DeSantis. “All we are working on right now is voter outreach and voter turnout. After the primaries, then the party will throw their support behind a specific person," Huntley said in response. 

Voter trends show a growing number of people opting to register as NPA-No Party Affiliation across the state. Both parties are working to add those voters to their rolls for the primary and the presidential election afterward.

Meanwhile, a high profile Democrat from Orlando responded to my questions via email. Here’s State Representative Anna Eskamani’s statement.

"This has been a session from hell when it comes to the personal freedoms that Floridians hold so dear, like access to abortion, LGBTQ+ equality, immigrant rights and collective bargaining. We did see success with Florida’s state budget, including securing funding for Central Florida and in establishing a permanent tax break on children’s diapers and adult incontinence products. We also stopped new corporate tax breaks from becoming law and eliminated what would have been the canceling of certain majors and minors in Florida’s universities and colleges. Now that session is over, we must bring our righteous fight for Florida families back to our districts and prepare for what will no doubt be another tough legislative session in 2024," she said.

Gary Darling
Spectrum News Producer

2024 Legislative Session plans

I’ve been working on the fourth floor of the Capitol in Tallahassee.

That’s where lawmakers adjourned “sine die” their annual 60-day legislative lawmaking session. 

Lawmakers (and staff) are always in a celebratory mood when the end of the session rolls around, but now the question is… what’s next? 

Believe it or not, there are only a few short months before this process starts all over again.

Let’s work backward… the 2024 Legislative Session will start in January, not March, because it’s an election year.

State lawmakers can’t fundraise or campaign while Session is in progress, so if it were to be a March to May session, they would be off the campaign trail just as the process is really getting underway. So, January to March it is. 

Now, lawmakers don’t just show up at the start of 60 days. There are actually several weeks, called “committee weeks,” that will start in September. Those committee weeks allow filed bills to move through the committee process before the start of the next session.

Wait… filed bills? Absolutely. Starting July 1, lawmakers can start filing bills for the 2024 Legislative Session, and so, while it feels like the Capitol will be quiet, it won’t be quiet for long. The process rolls on.