HOLLYWOOD, FL — Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged Florida Republicans on Saturday to ready themselves for battle ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, promising them, “I’ve only begun to fight.”
The Florida governor spoke at the Sunshine Summit’s Victory Dinner following a day of debates and speeches from Florida politicians and high profile conservatives. He pointed Republicans to the biggest issues Florida has faced over the past few years, such as COVID, the border crisis, Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, inflation, and more.
Florida has met each of these issues head on, DeSantis said. But he warned politicians that liberal activists and media seek to “muddy the waters” and “create a blizzard of lies to blind all of us from what’s actually going on.”
“In times like these, it’s not enough to just be right on the issues,” he said. “Because in times like these, there’s no substitute for courage. You got to have the courage of your convictions to be willing to stand up against the media. You got to have the courage to stand up against things like cancel culture. You got to have the courage to stand up to the woke mob. You got to have the courage to stand in the way of the Brandon administration.”
The governor believes things are looking favorable for Republicans.
“Even people that are not Republicans, and even people that have been voting for Democrats … they see, in their own life, the effect of Biden’s policies. And so they are dissatisfied. And so we have an opportunity to build a massive coalition here in the state of Florida, and I think it’s there for the taking.”
“But you got to be ready for battle,” he warned. “So put on the full armor of God.”
“We are just getting warmed up,” he told the cheering crowd. “I have only begun to fight. I’m standing my ground, walking the line all the way to the finish line, and I can tell you this: with your help, and everybody behind us, there is no doubt in my mind that come November, we are going to keep the state of Florida free.”
Florida Republicans had determined ahead of time that the state’s big election year summit would be “invite only” for media.
“I’m not going to have a bunch of left-wing media asking our primary candidates a bunch of gotcha questions,” DeSantis told a packed crowd on Saturday morning.
Reporters from outlets like The Daily Wire, The Washington Free Beacon, Americano Media, and Florida’s Voice were invited to attend the event. Politico’s Matt Dixon tweeted a private list of press approved for the event, sparking criticism from reporters who were not invited, but wished to attend.
“It’s funny that the very reporters who were uninterested in the Sunshine Summit were the same ones huddled in a corner across from the entrance hoping for a peek,” campaign spokesman Dave Abrams told The Daily Wire.
“We aren’t bothered by their tantrums — in fact it validates our presumption that fair coverage was never a thought for them,” he added.