DeSantis outlines plan to win over urban, minority voters in 2024
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis outlined his intention to win over urban and minority voters in his bid for president in 2024, pointing to his prior victory in Miami-Dade County as evidence he can accomplish such a feat as a Republican.
“Will you have, or do you have, plans to work to try to gain support among minority and urban voters where Republicans have not done as well as they should have done?” DeSantis was asked by Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
“Of course, that’s what we did in Florida,” DeSantis said. “I won Miami Dade County, which is our most urban county – 2.8 million people… that’s more than some states have in population – 70% Latino.”
Referring to his 2022 reelection, DeSantis faced Democrat Charlie Crist last year. Miami-Dade County swung for DeSantis 55.3% to Crist’s 44%.
For comparison, in 2020, former President Donald Trump lost the county to President Joe Biden 53.4% to 46.1%. In 2016, Trump lost the county to Hillary Clinton 63.7% to 34.1%.
DeSantis swung other traditionally blue areas to the Republican column, such as Palm Beach, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Osceola and Seminole County.
“Some of the most heavily urban counties – we were winning in Florida,” DeSantis said. “The formula is: one, don’t pander to people and try to divide them on ethnicity. Treat them, and us, as Americans.”
“We will crack down on crime nationally with these Soros backed prosecutors. I did it in Florida. I’ll do it nationally,” he added.
DeSantis reiterated his vow to shut down the southern border to handle an ongoing illegal immigration crisis.
“The border and immigration, illegal immigration is having a devastating effect on a lot of these urban areas. People are flooding their school systems and hospitals. I’m going to shut the border down.”
DeSantis must still win the Republican presidential nomination to appear as a general election candidate in 2024.
Facing Trump, the frontrunner and former president, DeSantis has a reported ~40-point deficit nationally in the polling average.
However, with the primaries being held on a state-by-state basis until the Republican National Convention in mid-2024, DeSantis’ campaign has been focusing on early primary or caucusing states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
