TULSA, Okla.—Republican governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis of Florida brought his campaign to Oklahoma this weekend where he picked up fellow Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s endorsement and told voters his plan to turn the country around.
Stitt compared DeSantis’s administration to his own work in Oklahoma. He said both states resisted mask mandates, both are pro-life, and both oppose the policies of the Biden administration.
“I 100 percent endorse Ron DeSantis,” he told the gathering on June 10.
DeSantis told an overflow Tulsa crowd that America is in decline by its leaders’ choices. He said he would use the policies implemented in Florida to turn the country around.
“Our great American comeback will begin when we send Joe Biden back to his basement in Delaware,” DeSantis told the crowd. “I know it can be done because I did it in Florida.”
He promised to tighten immigration policy, implement E-Verify for legal employment, impose stricter penalties for fentanyl smuggling, and crack down on human trafficking.
But DeSantis said one of his priorities would be to tame inflation by stopping money printing and cutting back on government spending.
“We are going to end Biden’s disastrous economic policies,” he said.
DeSantis said Florida has banned the purchase of land by America’s enemies, banned Environmental Social Governance banking, and promoted sound fiscal policies. He said this has resulted in $2.7 billion in tax relief for Floridians even though the state has no income tax. He added that he would restart domestic energy production.
“We will put wokeism in the dustbin of history,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis said Florida fought the indoctrination of children by standing up to corporations, activists, and the education establishment.
He said pornography is prohibited in Florida’s public school libraries, and so-called “gender-affirming health care” for children is banned. He added that Florida allows school choice, has implemented pro-life laws, and has authorized the death penalty for pedophilia.
“We stand for protecting our children, and on those principles, we will never compromise. If we can do it in Florida, we can do it anywhere,” he said, drawing cheers from the crowd.
He said the state has also eliminated taxes on infant-care items.
“In Florida, we got results. You can now raise babies tax-free,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis said the key to success is to get the government back to the pattern outlined by America’s founders. Unaccountable agencies have exercised power over taxpayers through unconstitutional laws for too long. DeSantis said he would rein in the administrative state.
“The founding fathers created three branches of the government, they did not create four branches of government. We will once and for all end the weaponization of federal power,” DeSantis said.
He vowed to “clean out” the Justice Department starting with a new FBI director.
According to the website Five Thirty-Eight, Trump leads the other seven Republicans vying for their party’s nomination with 53.8 percent. DeSantis is second with 21.3 percent, and Pence is third with 5.4 percent.
DeSantis finds himself fighting for attention as Trump’s June 8 indictment by President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice dominates the news. DeSantis has condemned the indictment on social media but did not address it in Tulsa.
“The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society. We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending on political affiliation. Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?” DeSantis wrote on Twitter.
DeSantis has made illegal immigration the central plank of his campaign. The Florida governor comes to Oklahoma from Iowa, where he convened a roundtable of southwestern sheriffs to discuss illegal immigration. He invited the lawmen to use programs he initiated in his state to fight the problem.
Drawing Ire from Sanctuary States
DeSantis has drawn criticism and legal threats from California Gov. Gavin Newsome for flying illegal immigrants to so-called “sanctuary states” like California and Massachusetts. Newsom has threatened to prosecute DeSantis for kidnapping.
“We were even able to transport some illegal aliens to beautiful Martha’s Vineyard,” DeSantis said.
Some rally attendees said they weren’t too choosy about which candidate got the nomination as long as a Republican makes it to the White House.
John Beemer of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, said he is taking a wait-and-see approach to the Republican Primary. He hasn’t decided who will get his vote in the Primary but he will vote for the GOP nominee regardless of who it is.
“I like what (DeSantis) did in Florida,” Beemer said. “What I like about Trump is that he gets things done. I think DeSantis is the same type of person.”
Steve Tryon of Coweta, Oklahoma, is a steadfast DeSantis supporter but said he would ultimately vote for whoever gets the nomination.
“They’re both very effective,” Tryon said.
