There was a red wave. At least, there was a slight red swell down south in Florida.
Rep. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, defied the polls to win the race to become the next governor. Outgoing Gov. Rick Scott, also a Republican, maintains a slim lead over incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, late into the night.
Thus, the committee to re-elect President Trump in 2020 rests easier than normal on a Tuesday.
There is one task in front of Florida Republicans, and they have two years to achieve it. They will busy themselves with improving the odds for President Trump. He won in that state by just a little more than 120,000 votes — less than the population of little Fort Lauderdale.
It would be premature to speculate that Florida becomes solidly red after one election. All the same, the infrastructure is there for the GOP to get the job done, to keep those 29 electoral college votes solidly Republican.
This opportunity comes thanks to DeSantis, who went full-on Florida man. He was knocked back and forth with allegations of racism by his opponent, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, and by the press. He didn’t wince once.
DeSantis embraced the tone and the rhetoric of Trump to defeat Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam in the Republican primary. Rather than tone it down, DeSantis amped it up during the general election, and it worked. He can lay the groundwork for a Trump win in Florida to be sure. More importantly, he delivered the referendum result that Trump Republicans want: Trumpism, the inclinations and the ingrained policies, still delivers.
Republicans are one step closer to turning a key battle ground state permanently red.
