Who is Ron DeSantis?
Ron DeSantis has been Governor of Florida since January 2019. Born in Jacksonville, he studied at Yale and Harvard Law School and served as a Navy lawyer, including a deployment to Iraq. He represented a northeast Florida district in the US House from 2013 to 2018. He won reelection as governor in 2022 by about 19 points. He ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and withdrew in January 2024, endorsing Donald Trump. He cannot seek a third term in 2026 and endorsed Republican nominee Byron Donalds in September 2026 to succeed him.
Previously: Candidate for the Republican presidential nomination (2023-2024) · US Representative for Florida's 6th congressional district (2013-2018) · US Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps officer (2004-2010)
Documented positions
- Signed the Heartbeat Protection Act in April 2023, banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.Source: flgov.com
- Signed HB 1 in March 2023, opening state-funded school choice scholarships to all Florida students regardless of income.Source: flgov.com
- Signed a 2023 law allowing adults to carry concealed handguns without a permit.Source: nbcnews.com
- Signed the 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act, which restricts classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.Source: npr.org
- Used state funds in 2022 to fly about 50 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, from Texas to Martha's Vineyard.Source: tampabay.com
- Opened a state-run immigration detention site in the Everglades in July 2025 to support federal deportations, and announced in June 2026 that it had closed after fulfilling that role.Source: wflx.com
- Called a June 2026 special session that placed a constitutional amendment on the November 2026 ballot raising the homestead exemption from non-school property taxes.Source: wflx.com
- Called in 2026 for an AI Bill of Rights limiting AI chatbots for minors; the state Senate passed it, but the House declined to take it up in the regular session and again in an April 2026 special session.Source: clickorlando.com
Record
During the COVID-19 pandemic DeSantis reopened schools and businesses earlier than many states and opposed mask and vaccine mandates. After Disney criticized the Parental Rights in Education Act in 2022, the state took control of the company's special taxing district, and the two sides settled their lawsuits in 2024. In 2024 a federal appeals court ruled that the workplace provisions of his Stop WOKE Act violated the First Amendment.
Supporters cite Florida's population growth, school choice expansion, tax policy and his 2022 reelection margin. Critics cite the abortion law, restrictions on school content, the migrant flights and the Everglades detention site, which faced environmental lawsuits before it closed in June 2026. In his final year his property tax amendment reached the ballot, while the state House declined to pass his AI bill and measures to loosen vaccine requirements.
