Florida Politics & News
Florida news featured in The Daily Signal with reporting, analysis, and commentary on conservative governance, education reform, and the Sunshine State’s leadership in policy innovation.
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news
DeSantis Announces Changes to Florida’s Colleges
Florida is making a slew of changes to its colleges, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said Tuesday morning. “We will eliminate all DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] and CRT [critical race theory] bureaucracies in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said in a news conference in Bradenton, Florida. “New College has really embraced that, and I… -
news
Florida Supreme Court Rejects Planned Parenthood’s Bid to Block Pro-Life Law From Taking Effect
Florida's state Supreme Court on Monday denied Planned Parenthood's emergency motion to block the state's 15-week abortion ban. “As [Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis] said, we are better when everybody counts,” the governor's press secretary, Bryan Griffin, said in a statement Tuesday, adding: The Florida Supreme Court denied both of Planned Parenthood’s emergency motions asking the court… -
news
DOJ Indicts Radical Activists for Attacking Florida Pro-Life Facilities
Following attacks on over 78 pro-life groups across the nation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has finally indicted two pro-abortion activists for attacking pro-life facilities in Florida. Twenty-seven-year-old Caleb Freestone and 23-year-old Amber Smith-Stewart “targeted pregnancy resource facilities and vandalized those facilities with spray-painted threats,” according to the DOJ. The threatening language that the two… -
news
Hillsdale College Professor Appointed to Florida College Sets the Record Straight Amid Liberal Media Attacks
Left-leaning media outlets have villainized Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, painting his recent moves in the Sunshine State’s education system as a hostile takeover from the Right. So Matthew Spalding, a professor at Hillsdale College whom DeSantis recently appointed to the New College of Florida’s board of trustees, decided to set the record straight. “DeSantis… -
news
Ron DeSantis, Sworn In as Florida Governor, Promises to Uphold ‘The Sacred Fire of Liberty’
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took the oath of office on Tuesday morning, surrounded by his wife and children, beginning his second term as governor of Florida. “Freedom lives here in our great Sunshine State of Florida,” DeSantis said Tuesday in front of Florida’s historic state Capitol, aware that the eyes of not only the… -
news
DeSantis Asks for Florida Grand Jury to Investigate COVID-19 Vaccines
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday new actions designed to hold the federal government and pharmaceutical companies accountable for decisions related to COVID-19 vaccines. DeSantis will establish the Public Health Integrity Committee, overseen by the state’s surgeon general, to assess federal public health recommendations and guidance. The governor also petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to impanel… -
opinion
5 Reasons I Moved From New York to Florida
“Why, after three decades of life as a New Yorker, did you move to Florida?” I’m often asked this question with a mix of wonder, as if I’d just traveled across Mongolia on horseback, tainted by Upper East Side disdain (“Did you retire early?” How was the hurricane?” etc.). For background, I first came to… -
opinion
How Florida Became New Capital of Red State America
In what was an overall frustrating election night for Republicans, in which the oft-predicted “red wave” failed to materialize nationally, there was one state above all that provided a clear beacon of hope. That would be my adopted state of Florida. In the Sunshine State last Tuesday evening, Gov. Ron DeSantis cruised to a second… -
opinion
A True Realignment in Florida
It was a difficult Tuesday night for Republicans. Despite so many factors pointing to a massive red tsunami likely to sweep Democrats out of power in the midterm elections, it was a small wave that gently lapped on GOP shores. But does a muted wave mean it’s time for the right to tap out? It’s still… -
news
DeSantis-Endorsed School Board Candidates Win in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, won reelection by almost 20 points, and all six of the school board candidates he endorsed have prevailed Tuesday. DeSantis had previously endorsed 24 candidates in school board races, all of whom won. While school board races are historically nonpartisan, parents’ outrage over critical race theory, transgender activism, and… -
news
‘Florida Is Where the Woke Goes to Die,’ Gov. Ron DeSantis Proclaims After Landslide Reelection
Wokeness isn’t welcome in Florida, and the Sunshine State is a place where it “goes to die,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who was reelected in a landslide, said in a Tuesday night victory speech. DeSantis defeated Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, a former Republican and former governor, by nearly 20 percentage points with… -
news
BREAKING: Ron DeSantis Wins Reelection in Florida
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis will win reelection, The Associated Press, The New York Times, and Fox News projected. It remains to be seen how large his margin of victory will be but with nearly 80% reporting, DeSantis leads with more than 16 points and more than 1 million votes, 57.96% to Democratic U.S. Rep…. -
news
Florida Medical Boards Ban Transgender Surgeries, Hormones for Minors
The Florida Board of Medicine and the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine approved a new rule Friday banning puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries for minors. The two boards approved the rule banning such treatments for young people under 18 during a joint meeting on Friday, according to Florida’s Voice. The Florida Board of… -
opinion
7 Facts Biden Ignored About Social Security in His Speech to Florida Retirees
President Joe Biden claimed that Democrats will protect Social Security and that Republicans threaten its future in a speech Tuesday in Hallandale Beach, Florida. But the “reality” Biden portrayed is misleading and undermines Social Security’s future. Social Security’s future is not secure. The program is running out of time and money, and recent increases in… -
opinion
Fact Check: What Politico, FEMA Chief Got Wrong as Florida’s DeSantis Prepared for Hurricane Ian
Politico this week inaccurately reported remarks by FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about Florida’s response to Hurricane Ian, but she also appeared to be inaccurate in saying that she hasn’t ever acted politically during a natural disaster. Criswell, who runs the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Biden administration, spoke Tuesday at a White House press… -
news
DeSantis Touts Florida’s Successes, Paints Stark Contrast With Blue States
AVENTURA, Florida—Florida has become a “refuge of sanity in a world gone mad.” That was the assessment of Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., in remarks Saturday evening at the third National Conservatism Conference here in this city north of Miami. DeSantis’ speech focused on the core theme of how Florida has become a bastion of liberty—a… -
news
Conservatives Sweep School Board Races Across Florida
School boards in five Florida counties flipped to conservative majorities Tuesday with help from the endorsements of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican. Miami-Dade County, Sarasota County, Duval County, Martin County, and Clay County held school board elections. The conservative school board candidates in the five counties won their races, resulting in a flip in the… -
opinion
A Company Flees Illinois for Florida, Showing Red States’ Appeal
In late June, Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker traveled to New Hampshire to be the keynote speaker at New Hampshire’s Democratic Party state convention. Officially, he was there to “help other Democratic governors get elected” and to lobby for Chicago as the site of the party’s 2024 presidential convention. Unofficially, there was buzz that Pritzker… -
news
New Florida Law to Prohibit Protests at Private Residences
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday aimed at protecting the privacy of the state’s residents by prohibiting protests and picketing outside private residences. The bill takes effect Oct. 1 and bans any protesting at personal dwellings with the intent to “harass or disturb” the resident. Violators will be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor and will be subject to a possible 60… -
opinion
Florida to Teach Students About Evils of Communism. Some on the Left Aren’t Happy About It.
Florida students will now learn about the evils of communist totalitarianism, thanks to the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis signed HB 395 into law on Monday, creating a “Victims of Communism Day” in which middle school students will receive at least 45 minutes of instruction every Nov. 7 on topics “such as Mao…