Ron DeSantis

"The cruise industry is essential to our state's economy and keeping it shut down until November would be devastating to the men and women who rely on the cruise lines to provide for themselves and their families," the governor said Friday.

"It's completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society," DeSantis said Monday.

The state reported 5,773 new cases, up from 5,143 the day before, as spring break crowds flock to the state's beaches, streets and bars.

Republicans chose Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence as their top choices in a poll asking who they would vote for in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries if former President Donald Trump does not run.

In each of the metro areas of Miami, Tampa and Orlando, coronavirus cases have begun to rise among people aged 25 to 49 years old.

Miami Beach has a local facemask ordinance but the governor's reopening plan forbids the city from enforcing it with fines and penalties.

"Cruz and I had it out for a while. Actually, we were very close in the 2016 campaign and then he got nasty," Trump said.

Florida Attorney Daniel Uhlfelder has urged holiday-goers to reconsider their travel plans as the state surpasses more than 2 million cases of COVID-19.

The Republican Florida governor has enjoyed growing favorability among GOP voters already searching for a potential 2024 presidential frontrunner.

The Florida governor announced that 50-year-olds would now be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in the state.

"Some of these lockdown states are getting an extra billion, $2 billion, $3 billion," DeSantis said, referring to the stimulus package. "So, it's effectively a transfer of money from states like Florida and Georgia to states like New York, Illinois and California."

The federal complaint claimed DeSantis selectively distributed vaccines to wealthy communities developed by donors to his re-election campaign.

"To even contemplate doing any kind of lockdown, honestly it's insane, so that's not going to happen in the state of Florida," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Friday.

The contrast between the prevailing narratives about Cuomo and DeSantis tells us more than a simple story about the declining circumstances of one and the rising star of the other.

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who insists that he played no role in the early distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to a wealthy community, has reportedly been contradicted by county officials and the health care company that distributed doses.

A new poll of Republican voters shows that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence are tied for second place in a hypothetical 2024 presidential race behind Trump. Texas Senator Ted Cruz came in third.

It's not yet time to throw away the hand sanitizer or burn your masks. But it is long past time to reopen America.

"I'm not worried about your income bracket, I'm worried about your age bracket," Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.

President Biden said in a March 2 directive to all states that the aim is to have teachers, school staff and childcare workers administered with their first shot by the end of March.

The Republican had pushed for reopening the state's economy and criticized lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Senate majority leader said congressional Republicans at CPAC were "unconscionable" while the budget committee chairman said the GOP was becoming "authoritarian."

Florida is the only state without a plan stating which residents will be included in the next vaccine prioritization phase.

"We are on the mend. There are now scientists with data showing vaccines soaring, cases plunging, this is not nothing," Kudlow said Tuesday.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is the clear favorite to beat both of the state's U.S. senators in hypothetical 2024 GOP presidential primary, according to a new poll.

More than 4.8 million of the 11.1 million voters who cast ballots in Florida last year voted by mail, state data shows.

DeSantis has received plaudits from figures in his party despite recent criticism of the state's vaccine rollout.

A Republican congressman recently said the Florida governor would be a "strong potential presidential candidate" for the 2024 election cycle.

The Republican Florida governor suggested Wednesday that he would reroute COVID-19 vaccines from communities that criticize his distribution methods.

"We have done it the right way, we are not going to turn back," the Florida governor said during a press conference. "What the CDC put out, 5 o'clock on a Friday afternoon—I wonder why they would do it then—was quite frankly a disgrace."

"Ron DeSantis is having a moment with conservatives," Josh Holmes, a top adviser to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, told Politico.