The reception DeSantis received in Kansas reinforced the perception that last week’s stunt accomplished more than raising awareness of the border crisis or diverting migrants who may have ended up in Florida (though no one said that was their destination). . It also quickly thrust the Republican leader, who is running for re-election this fall, into the national spotlight as he considers whether to run for president in 2024.
At an event hours later in Wisconsin, DeSantis said the nation’s immigration system is “on the ballot” this November.
“That border is now an issue in this election,” DeSantis said. “And I think that’s something that our candidates should get.”
The rallies in Kansas and Wisconsin marked the fifth and sixth stops in a national blitz by DeSantis to galvanize a new generation of conservative candidates and test his political brand on a tour coordinated by the conservative group Turning Point Action.
DeSantis’ road trip mirrors former President Donald Trump’s battleground state rallies ahead of the midterms and his expected foray into another bid for the White House, and has served as a prelude to a hypothetical primary battle between the two biggest GOP names. On Saturday, Trump held a rally for Republican Senate candidate JD Vance in Youngstown, Ohio, where DeSantis dazzled a large crowd last month. From Olathe, Kansas, DeSantis traveled to Green Bay to find Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels, about 90 minutes north of where Trump did the same in August.
DeSantis’ action on immigrants has strengthened the GOP base and won praise from Republicans, some of whom have predicted it will pay off politically for DeSantis.
Conservative radio host Pete Mundo, speaking earlier on the program, called the flights arranged by the Florida governor “one of the smartest political moves I’ve ever seen in my life” and suggested sending protesters outside the event on Martha’s Vineyard . Sen. Roger Marshall, D-Kansas, said in his remarks that he asked De Sandys behind the scenes, “How could I get a ticket to drive one of these buses from the border to Delaware Beach?”
The actions of DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who sent migrants to Washington, were widely criticized by local officials in the cities where the migrants arrived unannounced, as well as by Democrats and the White House. President Joe Biden accused Republican governors of “playing politics with the people.”
But in the days since the migrants arrived on Martha’s Vineyard, turning the wealthy vacation destination into an overnight hotspot for asylum seekers, DeSantis has doubled down on his decision to get Florida involved. He vowed to use “every penny” of the $12 million the Legislature budgeted to move more immigrants across the border, even though state law says the money is for moving people from within his state.
DeSantis told the Kansas crowd that his move exposed the hollowness of sanctuary cities that advertise themselves as welcoming to outsiders. The 50 migrants “were essentially given a lottery to get to the richest haven in the country,” DeSantis said, adding that there were “job listings” on the island and hotels where the migrants could stay.
“You’re talking about 50 people. Did they get jobs? Did they set them up? No,” DeSantis said of Martha’s Vineyard residents. “They called the National Guard and they deported these people from the island the very next day.”
Migrants were boated to Cape Cod 48 hours after arriving in Massachusetts to receive additional services. Despite the lack of warning of the migrants’ arrival, citizens there quickly mobilized food and shelter.
“Now we see that this is just self-congratulatory virtue signaling,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis’ recent actions — and many others — have drawn a positive response from GOP candidates in deep red Kansas.
“I’m all for it,” said Derek Schmidt, the state’s Republican attorney general running for governor whom DeSantis campaigned for in Olathe.
Schmidt is challenging incumbent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, a political fringe seat he hopes to win again in a state where Trump carried all but a handful of counties just two years ago. Schmidt’s chances are complicated by state Sen. Dennis Pyle, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate as a conservative Independent.
Despite the upset nature of the race, it has flown largely under the national radar compared to other closely watched contests for governor and U.S. Senate. Kansas made headlines last month when voters overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have allowed lawmakers to ban abortions in the state, adding to the excitement among Democrats across the country about taking on the issue in November.
DeSantis’ visit to Kansas was indicative of his growing influence in all corners of the Republican Party. Not only did he draw a sizable crowd, but Schmidt made it clear that if elected he would model his governor after DeSantis.
“I want a future for our great state of Kansas that looks a lot more like Ron DeSandis in Florida than where Joe Biden and Laura Kelly want to take this country,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt highlighted DeSantis’ policies he would adopt, many of which are based on the divisive social battles Floridians have experienced over the past two years. He promised that Kansas would have a parental rights bill, that it would ban the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom, and that it would ban transgender women and girls from participating in female scholastic athletes — all actions that it already has DeSantis does.
“You have a legislature here that will produce very good legislation,” DeSantis said. “You just need a governor to sign the legislation. And you can do that.”
During the rally in Green Bay, Michels called DeSantis “a man who was willing to step up and make the tough decisions.”
GOP Sen. Ron Johnson, who is facing a tough re-election challenge against Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, also spoke at the event and did not mention DeSantis. After President Joe Biden narrowly won Wisconsin in 2020, and with two races on the ballot this year, the state is one to watch in 2022.
Ahead of the rally in Wisconsin, Democratic Governor Tony Evers asked Michels and DeSandis to hold a rally a few miles from Lambeau Field, just before the Green Bay Packers kicked off their game against the Chicago Bears.
“Wisconsinians don’t want out-of-state radicals ruining their Sunday – and they don’t want Ron DeSandis here either. Tim Michels continues to show Wisconsin voters that he’s wrong about our state and is holding an event just before a Packers game with one of the most divisive politicians in the country is another red flag,” Evers said in a statement.
DeSantis told the crowd in Wisconsin that he was headed to his first Packers game after his speech.
Meanwhile, in Kansas, Republicans assured the public that they made sure the event did not conflict with a Kansas City Chiefs game. The city’s beloved professional football team played on Thursday night.
DeSantis joked, “(The organizers) said they wanted to do it Sunday afternoon and I said, ‘The Kansas City Chiefs better not play.’
This story has been updated with additional developments.
