CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Democratic lawmakers made South Florida stops this weekend to rally their respective bases less than a month before the midterm elections.
7News cameras captured a sea of supporters cheering the governor outside of the Wings Plus along West Sample Road in Coral Springs, Sunday afternoon.
“Aren’t you glad to live in the free state of Florida?” said DeSantis moments after he took the stage.
The governor’s first topic was the state’s rapid response following the devastation from Hurricane Ian.
“We looked at the situation, we said, ‘OK, this Pine Island Bridge got washed away, the road. We need to figure out a plan, and let’s execute,'” he said, “and three days later, we opened up a new bridge.”
The governor also explained why he reopened businesses and schools during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We needed to protect their rights, we needed to protect their jobs, and we were the first big state to say, ‘These kids need to be in school, in person, five days a week, and we’re going to make it happen,'” he said. “There were a lot of people who did not want to see that, for whatever their reasons were.”
This was one of the locations where DeSantis campaigned for governor back in 2018. At one point, his wife, Casey DeSantis, and their children joined him onstage.
DeSantis’ stop was his third this weekend as part of his statewide “Keep Florida Free” campaign trail.
The governor’s supporters told 7News they stand behind this campaign message.
“Keep Florida free. It’s everything, from the way he handled the COVID [pandemic], to the schools, to so many people have moved here because of his leadership, and now especially with the hurricane,” said supporter Paulette Terhune.
“We need to be able to choose what’s best for us for our health, not being mandated for vaccines or anything like that, that we have the power to choose what we want to do,” said supporter Cheryl Blair.
Meanwhile, Florida Democrats held their own rally at a park in Plantation, purposefully scheduling it ahead of the governor’s rally.
Speakers at the event criticized what she described as DeSantis’ extreme abortion ban.
“If he gets reelected, Governor DeSantis will force women across Florida into countless unwanted pregnancies, and he will destroy Florida’s sacred privacy protections,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. “Bottom line: under DeSantis, Florida will be less free. You cannot mandate forced birth for women and still be free.”
“The extreme right believes there are no exceptions — no exceptions for rape, no exceptions for incest,” said Florida State Rep. Robin Bartleman. ‘It doesn’t matter about the life of the mother. This is inhumane.”
Looking ahead, President Joe Biden is preparing for his own South Florida stop. The commander in chief will be in Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 1, a week before before the midterms, to attend a private fundraiser for Florida gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist.
DeSantis also campaigned in Tampa and Central Florida earlier this weekend.
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