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Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaking Wednesday in Orlando, sounded off on this week’s primary results, criticizing Angie Nixon’s U.S. Senate campaign as doomed to fail and supporting the ouster of embattled U.S. Congressman Cory Mills.
He also called this week’s arrest of Michael Caruso, a political ally whom he’d appointed as clerk of courts in Palm Beach County, a “gut punch.”
Asked for his opinion on Tuesday’s election results, DeSantis mentioned the upset victory that Nixon, a state lawmaker from Jacksonville, secured against Alex Vindman in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. The seat is held by U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, whom the governor appointed to the position and who easily won the GOP primary. Nixon will now face Moody in November.
The governor said he didn’t see Nixon, a staunch progressive, securing much support in the more conservative parts of the state.
“Why would you want to run somebody that is a self-described socialist in the state of Florida? You want to go down to Hialeah and try to sell that to people down there?” he said. “I don’t think that dog’s going to hunt. I don’t think it’s going to work at all.”
DeSantis added that Florida is no longer competitive in statewide races, as it was when he narrowly won the governor’s mansion in 2018 for the first time. He cited, and took credit for, the massive margin Republicans have secured in registered voters compared to Democrats in the state since then.
“No one’s worked harder to get Florida to where we are politically than I have. Since I’ve gotten in we’ve gone from hundreds of thousands more registered Democrats in Florida,” he said. “We now have 1.5 million more registered Republicans. That’s never happened anywhere in the U.S.A. at that scale.”
DeSantis gave his remarks Wednesday afternoon at AdventHealth Orlando hospital, where he spoke about his administration’s support for cancer research and announced new grants awarded to doctors researching cancer treatment at universities, hospitals and charities across the state.
The governor also weighed in on the defeat of the scandal-plagued Mills, R-New Smyrna Beach, who lost in his GOP primary by former Fox35 news anchor Ryan Elijah.
Last week, DeSantis said he did not support Mills’ reelection bid in a congressional district centered in Seminole County. On Wednesday, he said there was a good chance Republicans would have lost the district in November if Mills had been nominated, calling it a “big risk.” He will be supporting support Elijah’s candidacy to succeed Mills.
“I’m in favor of Ryan. I think he seems like a really good guy. He was able to galvanize a lot of good support. People know him from the community…there’s a recognition factor,” DeSantis said of the former Fox 35 TV anchor. “I think that’s probably going to be very helpful.”
DeSantis was also asked about Caruso’s arrest on child sexual abuse charges on Tuesday. The governor appointed Caruso last August as Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts and Comptroller and then suspended him from the position after his arrest. Caruso is a former state lawmaker who backed DeSantis’ legislative agendas.
The alleged victim is one of Caruso’s young family members. The governor described the charges as hard to stomach.
“He’s in for a world of hurt if these allegations are proven in the court of law…he’s going to have the book thrown at him like few defendants will,” he said. “They are truly horrific allegations.”
DeSantis added that state investigators “worked really hard to build a case that can withstand legal scrutiny and the inevitable defenses that come.”
Caruso, the governor said, was highly recommended to him for the appointment as clerk of court and was “clean” when vetted for the position.
The young victim lives in Orange County. Caruso has been extradited here and as of Wednesday evening was in the county jail without bond.
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