DeSantis showcases ability to govern with hurricane response

Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R-FL) handling of Hurricane Idalia has caused him to skip presidential campaign events this week, but it may also help showcase to Republican primary voters across the nation why DeSantis is former President Donald Trump‘s top rival in the race.

How DeSantis guides the Sunshine State through another possible natural disaster could help him regain more positive attention after last week’s primary debate came and went without a breakthrough moment from the governor, along with a rough summer resetting his presidential campaign amid a poll decrease and campaign shake-ups.

IDALIA PATH TRACKER WATCH LIVE: WHERE IS THE HURRICANE AND WHERE WILL IT MAKE LANDFALL

“Everyone knows he’s a great governor,” said Gregg Keller, a Republican consultant based in Missouri, about DeSantis. “But I think the questions that have started to arise in recent weeks is, ‘OK, it’s great to be a great governor,’ and he probably is the best governor in America, but does he really have the toughness to take on the media and the national and international left in a presidential campaign?”

“Unfortunately, what this natural disaster does, one of the effects that is has, is it gives him an opportunity to change the subject and talk about things that are more weighty and frankly, they’re more important than the daily ‘he said she said’ of a presidential primary,” Keller added.

DeSantis has repeatedly stated over the past several days that his main concern is the safety of Floridians as they deal with Idalia.

“I think when you have situations like this, you’ve got to put the interests of the people first,” said DeSantis during a Monday press conference about Idalia. “There’s time and a place to have political season. But then there’s a time and a place to say that this is something that’s life-threatening, this is something that could potentially cost somebody their life. It could cost them their livelihood, and we have a responsibility as Americans to come together and do what we can to mitigate any damage and to protect people.”

Idalia first started off as a tropical storm before it strengthened into a hurricane by Tuesday morning. In response to the pending storm, DeSantis has activated Florida’s National Guard to respond to any damages from the Idalia, declared a state of emergency in at least 46 counties, and is working with Florida’s Division of Emergency Management and Department of Transportation to prepare for any damages.

The governor even spoke with President Joe Biden, whom he has consistently slammed on the campaign trail, and successfully requested an emergency declaration for Florida. “This morning, I spoke with Gov. DeSantis to inform him that we’ve approved the Emergency Declaration for Florida as they prepare for Hurricane Idalia, and FEMA has pre-deployed personnel and assets,” said Biden. “Florida has my full support as they prepare for Idalia and its aftermath.”

As a two-term governor, DeSantis’s experience is shining through this week as he navigates multiple systems to help Floridians survive the storm.

“Being a Florida governor requires you to become an expert in responding to hurricanes, and he certainly has that experience,” said GOP consultant Matt Mackowiak about DeSantis’s leadership. “When a hurricane hits, particularly one that might reach category three status, and it appears to be aimed at the northern half of the state. The potential impact on those communities is severe. From his perspective, nothing is more important than doing his job for the next week or so as this continues to progress through his state.”

Similarly, Morgan Marietta, professor and chairwoman of political science at the University of Texas at Arlington, told the Washington Examiner that “DeSantis is attempting to run a careful campaign that does not raise questions about his competence as an administrator. So he will pay close attention to his home state and ignore no crisis there.”

“A winning argument that he is the most electable Republican demands a display of steady competence, and his handling of this event in his home state may help deliver that impression,” Marietta also added.

DeSantis pointed to Hurricane Ian in September 2022 when asked about how his handling of Idalia was impacting his presidential run on Tuesday. “You remember Ian we were in the midst of a governor campaign. I had all kinds of stuff scheduled not just in Florida, around the country,” DeSantis said during a press conference. “You know, we were doing different things. And you know, you do what you need to do.”

“I’m hoping that this storm is not as catastrophic as Hurricane Ian was, but we’re going do what we need to do because it’s just, it’s just something that’s important. But it’s no different than what we’ve done in past iterations of all this stuff,” he added.

DeSantis also said his administration is working with power companies so that 30,000-40,000 linemen will be deployed across the state when Idalia lands and can help with power restoration efforts, along with 420,000 gallons of fuel to use at gas stations.

Fellow 2024 rival former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie‘s response to Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 may offer DeSantis some caution in handling a natural disaster. The infamous image of Christie shaking former President Barack Obama‘s hand as New Jersey recovered from the hurricane just before the November election angered Republicans then and even now. Last month, Trump slammed Christie once again for the meet-and-greet with Obama.

Yet Mackowiak said he doesn’t think the Christie situation and its proximity to Election Day is comparable to DeSantis’s current hurricane crisis, coming more than a year before the next election day. “Any governor, whether you’re in the opposite party of the president or not, would be foolish to not welcome the president of the United States to view the damage from a hurricane,” he said. “And the reason for that is that it’s good for your state to have the president witness firsthand the extent of the damage as you seek significant federal funding for rebuilding.”

“I think you can welcome the president and have him see it firsthand. But not go so far as to be so effusive in your praise of the president,” Mackowiak added.

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Keller, the Missouri-based consultant, said that the severity of a natural disaster requires governors and presidents to work together, but DeSantis’s persona will help him bypass the Christie situation.

“There are hundreds if not potentially thousands of lives that hang in the balance when you’re talking about a storm of this magnitude,” he said. “At the same time, I think the governor needs to be clear that this is business. This is serious business. We’re in the business of saving lives in the next few days. And this is not about the personal relationships or like or dislike between politicians of different parties.”