Blowout: Ron DeSantis Defeated Crist by over 1.5 Million Votes

Incumbent Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters at an election night p
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Hannah Knudsen

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) defeated Democrat challenger Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) by over 1.5 million votes, representing a drastic shift from his victory in 2018, when he won the governorship by 32, 463 votes or less than half a percentage point.

The race was called Tuesday evening for DeSantis, who soundly defeated his challenger. On Wednesday morning with over 95 percent of the vote in, DeSantis led Crist with 59.4 percent of the vote (4,607,597 votes as of Wednesday morning) to Crist’s 40 percent (3,100,603 votes).

For greater perspective, in 2018, DeSantis narrowly defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum, garnering 4,076,186 votes to Gillum’s 4,043,723 statewide — a difference of 32,463 votes.

Perhaps most stunning is the fact that DeSantis took traditionally blue counties this time around. Some of the most significant gains made for Republicans occurred in traditionally blue Miami-Dade. Democrat Andrew Gillum took that county in 2018 by over ten percent. But this time around, DeSantis bested Crist in the county by 11 percent. Similar trends were seen areas like Palm Beach:

DeSantis delivered his victory speech Tuesday evening, concluding that Florida has “rewritten the political map” and adding that it is “apparent that this election we will have garnered a significant number of votes from people who may not have voted for me four years ago.”

“I just want to let you know I am honored to have earned your trust and your support,” he said, explaining that Americans have already been voting with their feet.

“The results of that behavior has been just as stark as our landslide victory today; states and cities governed by leftist politicians have seen crime skyrocket. They’ve seen their taxpayers abused. They’ve seen medical authoritarianism imposed, and they’ve seen American principles discarded. The woke agenda has caused millions of Americans to leave these jurisdictions for greener pastures,” he said, identifying Florida as the “promised land” for many.

“We have embraced freedom. We have maintained law and order. We have protected the rights of parents. We have respected our taxpayers, and we reject woke ideology,” he said, concluding that “Florida is on the right track”:

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