MIAMI, Fla. – Women are central to both Florida governor campaigns with the general election only weeks away.
For Gov. Ron DeSantis, a new television ad puts First Lady Casey DeSantis front and center and for his opponent, Charlie Crist, visiting Fort Lauderdale and Little Havana on Tuesday, he says it is about women being able to make their own decisions about abortion and healthcare.
Crist told those who came to see him Tuesday that “here we are campaigning because of reality.” He continued: “Once I am back in Tallahassee, I will sign an executive order protecting our women’s right to choose,” he said to rousing applause.
Crist’s swing through South Florida comes with an effort to refocus Florida voters on one of the state’s and country’s most contentious and divisive issues — since state lawmakers passed abortion restrictions, and the governor — who had telegraphed a desire to do more — has largely stayed silent about it.
And then Hurricane Ian hit.
Now, Desantis’s public focus is on emergency recovery and it has put him on the news daily statewide with successes to share.
And, with his fundraising bolstered by national profile, DeSantis put on the air what by all accounts is his most impactful ad yet. His wife, Casey DeSantis, talks about her husband and, very personally, recounts how he cared for her when last year, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “He was there to pick me up off of the ground when I literally could not stand,” she says.
Crist says he is unfazed by the turn on the campaign trail and remains steadfast.
“It’s about freedom for women” promising to carry that message all the way through his campaign.
(See Ron DeSantis’s latest television ad)