Charlie Crist Campaign Claims Ron DeSantis ‘Utterly Failed to Respond’ to Hurricane Ian

Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), who is challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in Florida’s gubernatorial race, appears to be fundraising on the assertion that DeSantis “utterly failed to respond” to Hurricane Ian.

“Folks, DeSantis utterly failed to respond to the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian,” a Crist fundraising email, shared by the DeSantis War Room, reads.

“Hurricane Ian was a devastating storm that required REAL leadership — something that DeSantis is incapable of,” the email continues, asking to find 362 Americans “willing to agree with Charlie” and ultimately force DeSantis to “reckon” with his supposed failures:

Charlie Crist stop fundraising off of hurricanes challenge pic.twitter.com/ExiMPGlUwg

— DeSantis War Room 🐊 #FloridaStrong (@DeSantisWarRoom) October 19, 2022

It remains unclear what failures, exactly, the Crist campaign is referring to. Prior to the storm’s landfall, for example, DeSantis announced tens of thousands of linemen ready to respond to the storm, and within a matter of days, 99 percent of Floridians had power “other than some of the LCEC [Lee County Electric Cooperative] pockets,” DeSantis explained earlier this month:

#HurricaneIan is making landfall now. Florida is ready to respond. We have fleets of highwater vehicles, 42,000 linemen, 7,000 National Guardsmen and 179 aircraft prepared to help.

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 28, 2022

Florida has more than 42,000 linemen already staged for power restoration efforts across the state. Thank you for being prepared to power up our state.
 
For updates on #HurricaneIan follow @FLSERT. pic.twitter.com/7QO8UEALbE

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 28, 2022

Within a matter of days, DeSantis announced the construction of a temporary bridge connecting Pine Island to the mainland, providing access for first responders, linemen, and residents. This occurred in three days:

Construction on the Pine Island bridge has been completed today – just three days after construction began.

Happy to have the state step in and help get our Pine Island residents back on their feet. pic.twitter.com/a8GqPoHtP1

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 6, 2022

Further, the DeSantis administration announced it was flying in engineers to repair the Sanibel Causeway, which the Category 4 storm damaged in multiple areas. Last week, DeSantis announced it was open to emergency vehicles, and on Wednesday, the bridge opened to residents.

“Three weeks ago, Hurricane Ian destroyed the Sanibel Causeway in three places, leaving the island of Sanibel isolated. Today, we have re-opened the causeway for our residents after completing temporary repairs more than a week ahead of schedule. Way to go!” the governor said:

It remains unclear which of these three achievements, specifically, the Crist campaign takes issue with. Meanwhile, Crist made it clear during a recent appearance on MSNBC that any hurricane response must include addressing climate change.

.@CharlieCrist explains why addressing the climate crisis must be a crucial part of our response to #HurricaneIan:
"We also need to address climate change… You could have put three Hurricane Charleys—which hit the same part of Florida—inside the eye of Ian." pic.twitter.com/dKdd56zvsl

— Climate Power (@ClimatePower) October 3, 2022

Recent surveys do not indicate any sort of negative ramification for DeSantis in the aftermath of Ian, despite the establishment media salivating over the possibility. A FAU BEPI Florida poll, for example, found 63 percent overall approving of DeSantis’s hurricane response, and according to that survey, 41 percent of Democrats share that sentiment.

Saturday’s RealClearPolitics average showed DeSantis leading Crist by an average of 9.2 percent. The two will face off in their first and only debate Monday, October 24.