DeSantis' Stock Soars Following Huge Culture War Win as GOP Looks to 2028
The man whose national political career was considered extinct after his 2024 presidential campaign now stands tall amid Republican rubble.
“This is close to an extinction-level event for Republicans… out of the 10 largest states in this union, only one state will have Republican control of their state, the state of Florida,” Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday, as noted by Fox News.
DeSantis said the Florida GOP is an exception because he fought the battles state residents wanted fought.
“We’ve built up a record of achievement. We’ve earned trust from a number of our voters that, even in the worst situation that you can imagine politically, we were able to hold the line,” DeSantis said.
Watching Ron DeSantis on the news shows, he has definitely found his sea legs on communicating with the media. He is bringing a level of gravitas that was missing in 2024.
Glad to see it. I’ve always thought he would make an outstanding President of the United States.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) November 6, 2026
Political strategist Doug Kaplan said DeSantis’s star rose as the Republican Party fell.
“I think last night was a big night for DeSantis. If you’re looking at winners on the Republican side, then I think he’s found his lane if he wants to run for president in 2028,” he said.
Former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican, said building a base of voters long before Election Day paid off.
“We had a great outcome, right? And I think the 1.5 million-vote registration advantage that Gov. DeSantis took four years to build was actually the firewall that prevented Florida from going down the same path as Texas or Michigan,” Suarez said.
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“Republicans need to simplify their message. They need to be message discipline like Democrats were in this cycle. And then they got to find young, articulate, attractive candidates like the Democrats have found,” he said.
In a post on X, DeSantis expressed his pleasure that the Council on American Islamic Relations is leaving Florida after being designated a terrorist organization.
“You’re welcome,” he posted.
You’re welcome.
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 5, 2026
In assessing the election results, the Miami Herald reported, “Tuesday night’s elections pulled DeSantis away from lame-duck limbo and thrust him into wall-to-wall national media speculation that he will run for president again,” noting that DeSantis has not ruled out another campaign for president.
“His political capital to mount such a run shifted overnight. Instead of the governor who went against Trump and failed, he’s now the face of the final large GOP stronghold state left standing ahead of a 2028 presidential run with difficult electoral math for Republicans,” the outlet said.
🚨 HOLY SMOKES. Gov. Ron DeSantis just BLEW UP and went on an America first RAMPAGE on national TV
“I saw NO INDICATION that Republican senators were interested in doing conservative change! WHY haven’t we done immigration, SHUT OFF H1B visas?! WHY haven’t we CODIFIED Trump’s immigration executive orders?! Why haven’t we STRIPPED jurisdiction from the federal courts over deportation cases?! There’s SO MANY THINGS we COULD HAVE DONE.”
“THEY DIDN’T EVEN ATTEMPT IT.”
“They say, ‘oh, if only we needed 50 votes we would’ve done it!’ YOU DON’T HAVE 50 VOTES. You NEVER SHOWED you’d do conservative things, even with 50 votes! [RE: filibuster]…I NEVER saw an indication that they’d do it.”
“This midterm was a rebuke of the president and Congress…BUT, a LOT of our voters stayed home because they were FRUSTRATED with the LACK of productivity from Republicans in the House and Senate.”
A fire was just lit under this man.
Honestly have not seen him get that fired up in a LONG time
We definitely deserved better from our Senate. Now, we need to repair and win in 2028, or Democrats are destroying America!
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 5, 2026
Brock Juarez, DeSantis’s former deputy chief of staff, said if DeSantis makes it to the White House, he would be “one of the greatest presidents this country has ever had.”
“DeSantis is doing what he has always done by leading through the uncertainty and speaking clearly about the direction the Republican Party needs to take,” Juarez said.
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