Ron DeSantis Suddenly Thinks He’s a Big Shot Because Florida Republicans Barely Survived the Blue Tsunami

2 min readOne of the brown spots on the midterm apple is the lost opportunity in Florida, in which Democratic candidates Angie Nixon for the Senate and David Jolly for governor lost narrowly at least in part because the national Democratic Party inexcusably stiffed the state. And not only did this deprive the Democrats of two more earth-shaking upsets, but it also seems to have elevated outgoing dumbass Ron DeSantis into a National Figure again. From The Washington Post:“Florida’s walls not being breached by the blue wave gives DeSantis more credibility than nearly anyone in the opening days of the 2028 primary,” said Dan Eberhart, a longtime Republican donor and energy executive, who served as a surrogate for DeSantis’s unsuccessful 2024 presidential campaign."Unsuccessful?" The guy was roadkill by the side of a state road in Iowa. Sure, run his charisma-proof ass again.Anyway, the noise around Florida drowned out another lost opportunity. For much of the same reasons, the Democrats lost a real shot at flipping the Senate seat in Louisiana. Well-funded Republican Julia Lethow won the seat by less than two points over her opponent, Jamie Davis, a farmer from the ironically named village of Waterproof. And if you don't know anything about him, and if you didn't know how close the Louisiana race was, trust me, you're not alone. From Gambit:Davis’s campaign was remarkable for a host of reasons. As a Black man, Davis not only started off having to deal with all the racist ideas people might have about him, he also understood there’s a not insubstantial segment of the state that would never vote for him because of the color of his skin. With no real political pedigree, Davis also didn’t start off with any base of support—or, importantly, deep pocketed donors. Combine that with an essentially non-existent state Democratic Party, it’s no wonder pretty much everyone figured he’d be the latest in a string of “hey, who was that Democrat who ran a few years ago” candidates the party has fielded over the last decade for statewide election.Instead, Davis ran a masterful campaign, getting within less than two points of Julia Letlow. He squeezed every bit of juice out of the modest amount of money he raised, put together an energized ground team and in less than FOUR AND A HALF MONTHS made himself a household name across the state. And he’s got the attention of national donors and the Democratic Party, who are now kicking themselves for not getting involved in his senate race. All of which makes him the early, and obvious, favorite to run against Landry in next year’s election.Am I being greedy? Damn straight. Two more epochal upsets in the South would have produced a shockwave that would've shaken the moons of Saturn. More of this, please, next time, with money.