Ron DeSantis is a Republican politician who currently serves as the 46th governor of Florida. From 2013 to 2018, DeSantis previously served in the House of Representatives for Florida's 6th district. He is widely seen as a major conservative political leader and a possible 2024 Republican presidential contender.
Before entering politics, DeSantis was a Navy lieutenant, an advisor for SEAL Team One, and was later deployed to Iraq. In 2008, he was appointed to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida to serve as a Special Assistant attorney until 2010. DeSantis received his undergraduate degree at Yale and graduated from Harvard Law School.
During his tenure in Congress, DeSantis gained a reputation as an ardent defender of President Donald Trump by opposing Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. In 2018, he won the Florida gubernatorial campaign against Democratic Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum by a thin margin, triggering a recount. DeSantis would go on to win the governorship by a 0.4% margin.
DeSantis's stardom in conservative politics took off partly due to the coronavirus and vaccination policies he implemented in Florida during the pandemic. He prohibited private businesses from enforcing face masks and vaccination requirements. He received praise from conservatives such as Trump but was criticized by those on the left, including Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. In October 2021, Florida recorded the lowest COVID-19 daily average case per 100,000 residents in the United States, according to the state government.
DeSantis also signed a law prohibiting educational instructors from teaching students about sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten to the third grade. Critics of the bill have referred to it as the "Don't Say, Gay Bill." After the bill's passage, Disney admonished the Florida government and vowed to help fight the law in court. As a result, DeSantis stripped "Walt Disney World" of its self-governing status in the state. During the 2022 Florida gubernatorial election on November 8th, 2022, Desantis was reelected by nearly 60% of the electorate.
