Ron DeSantis
The term-limited governor is urging a no vote on Amendment 1 against his own party's endorsement, backing FDOT's removal of license-plate readers from state highways, and endorsing Byron Donalds to succeed him.
Ron DeSantis is spending his final months as Florida's term-limited governor at full throttle. He is urging a no vote on Amendment 1, the rainy-day-fund expansion on the Nov. 3 ballot, calling it "foolish" and arguing the surplus should fund tax cuts. It splits him from the Florida GOP and Chairman Evan Power, whose party endorsed the measure even as he backs Amendment 3's property-tax cuts.
His sharpest current front is surveillance. He backed FDOT's Aug. 31 revocation of every license-plate-reader permit on state highways and is pressing the legislature to write binding limits on the devices, citing officers caught tracking ex-girlfriends; he also supports Rep. Thomas Massie's federal Flock-Off Act. The pivot reverses $4.6 million in reader grants his administration approved for immigration enforcement, and sheriffs John Mina and Mike Chitwood warn the removal will aid criminals.
On succession, he endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds for governor at the party's Tampa forum, his first appearance with Donalds since their 2025 rift, and backed the full statewide ticket, telling Republicans not to take their foot off the gas. He is also installing loyalists in higher education: former deputy chief of staff Alex Kelly is sole finalist for the Pensacola State presidency, following Jeanette Núñez at FIU and Marva Johnson at Florida A&M, placements critics say aim to preserve his influence after he leaves office in under four months.
He praised the Board of Governors' unanimous ban on undocumented students at Florida's 12 public universities starting in 2027-28, led the Sept. 11 anniversary remembrance in Green Cove Springs, signed a mandate for annual instruction on the evils of communism, and accepted emergency-management director Kevin Guthrie's resignation after Guthrie joined Jay Collins' gubernatorial ticket. He has also broken publicly with Trump's proposed $5,000 midterm dividend, warning it would drive up debt and inflation.
On their plate
DeSantis is urging a no vote on Amendment 1, the Nov. 3 ballot measure expanding Florida's budget reserves, calling it "foolish" and arguing surplus revenue should go to tax cuts instead. The stand splits him from the Florida GOP, which endorsed both Amendment 1 and the Amendment 3 property-tax cut he supports.
He backed FDOT's Aug. 31 revocation of all automated license-plate-reader permits on state highways, with devices due off state rights-of-way within 30 days, and at a Miami press conference said the networks have gotten "out of control," warning against a "digital, AI surveillance state" while proposing an "AI bill of rights" modeled on New Hampshire's three-minute data-retention rule. He is urging the legislature to write binding limits on the readers, citing misuse such as officers tracking ex-girlfriends, and supports Rep. Thomas Massie's federal Flock-Off Act. The pivot reverses roughly $4.6 million in reader grants his administration approved for immigration enforcement, and sheriffs John Mina and Mike Chitwood warn the removal will aid criminals.
He endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds for governor at the Florida GOP Leadership Forum in Tampa on Sept. 1, his first appearance with Donalds since their 2025 rift, and backed the full statewide ticket, casting his seven and a half years as the most thorough defeat of the political left of any state "in our lifetimes." He is also placing loyalists in higher-education leadership: former deputy chief of staff Alex Kelly is sole finalist for the Pensacola State College presidency, following Jeanette Núñez at FIU and Marva Johnson at Florida A&M. Critics say the placements aim to preserve his ideological influence after he leaves office in under four months.
He publicly ratified the Board of Governors' unanimous ban on undocumented students enrolling in Florida's 12 public universities starting in 2027-28, saying he was glad to see the prohibition ratified and that Florida must put "Floridians and Americans first." The policy advanced administratively after the legislature failed to pass a similar bill.
He led a remembrance ceremony in Green Cove Springs on the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, honoring the 2,977 dead and first responders. He warned that "political correctness" has hindered confronting the jihadist threat and criticized current U.S. immigration policy.
Key relationships
DeSantis has endorsed Donalds as his chosen successor for governor, appearing with him for the first time since their 2025 rift and backing him atop the full statewide Republican ticket.
Open split: Power's Florida GOP endorsed Amendment 1 and defended the budget-reserve expansion, while DeSantis campaigns against it as "foolish" even as he backs the party's other ballot measure, Amendment 3.
DeSantis backs Massie's Flock-Off Act, the House bill that would bar federal funds for license-plate and biometric camera networks, extending to Washington the surveillance crackdown he is driving in Florida.
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