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By Aila Slisco
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was instrumental in turning Florida into a solidly Republican state, according to Fox News contributor Harold Ford Jr.
Former President Donald Trump easily defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the Sunshine State on Tuesday—a result that came as no surprise, as polls had shown the former president with a clear lead over the vice president.
While President Joe Biden lost the state by just 3.5 percent in 2020, Trump appeared to be headed for a double-digit win at the time of publication. Even Miami-Dade County, which once leaned Democratic, backed Trump this year.
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Ford, a former Democratic congressman, suggested during an election night broadcast on Fox News that DeSantis, who has served as the Florida governor since 2019, was responsible for turning the state red in recent years.
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"DeSantis will probably a big part of that story," said Ford. "It's important to note that they also had an abortion initiative on the ballot there in Florida. And it looks like it's going to win, the right to an abortion issue. 57-43, almost like the same numbers that Trump won with, maybe a little bit better."
"So, people split the ticket there," he added. "Perhaps some Republicans voted for that. You've got a strong governor there in Florida."
Newsweek reached out for comment to the office of DeSantis via email on Tuesday night.
DeSantis, who challenged Trump in the GOP presidential primaries but later endorsed him, had been urging Floridians to vote against Amendment 4 before the election. The amendment would enshrine in the state constitution the right to an abortion up to fetal viability—around 23 weeks.
The governor argued during an interview on Fox News last month that the ballot measure would allow abortion "all the way up until birth for virtually any reason."
"It eliminated parental consent for minors," DeSantis said. "In Florida, if you want to prescribe a minor Tylenol, you have got to get parental consent, but somehow they're going to take abortion out of that."
However, Amendment 4 would not have eliminated parental consent, with the language of the amendment explicitly stating that it would "not change the Legislature's constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion."
The influence of DeSantis may have played a role in the amendment failing on Tuesday, despite a majority of Florida voters backing it. Associated Press figures showed that 57 percent supported the amendment and 43 percent voted against it, at the time of publication. The amendment required 60 percent approval to become law.
Update 11/5/24, 9:24 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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