Gov. Ron DeSantis: The 'GOP's liberty champion'?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attributed his state’s success to the preservation of individual liberties and free-market policies.

“Floridians know we will not let anybody lock them down. We will not let anyone take their jobs. We will not let anyone ruin their businesses, and we will not let anyone close their schools,” the Florida governor said in an interview with Maria Bartimoro on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures. “So people are going to be able to live life, they’re going to be able to make their own decisions.

DeSantis continued, noting that Florida produced 50,000 new jobs in November – 25 percent of the total jobs created in the United States, according to the Washington Examiner.

“We have less taxes and that’s part of the reason people have been drawn here,” DeSantis added. “Since COVID, people know in Florida their freedoms are going to be respected."

DeSantis touted Florida’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19, saying, "We do put a lot of emphasis, unlike most states and certainly unlike the Biden administration, on early treatment when people do get infected, and it’s not just unvaccinated like they like to say."

Florida has implemented a COVID-19 treatment model using monoclonal antibody clinics set up across the state.

“Since we’ve rolled out the clinics, we’ve had one of the lowest hospitalization rates in the country,” the Republican governor added.

His assertion was confirmed last month by the Mayo Clinic, which reported that Florida is seeing 6.7 cases per 100,000 people. The national case rate is four times higher overall at 28.4 per 100,000.

Earlier this month, the Cato Institute released its annual Freedom in the 50 States report and determined that Florida is the second freest state in the union, highlighting the state’s lack of a personal income tax and its business friendly laws.

“Florida does especially well on economic freedom, and even more so on fiscal policy. Indeed, it is our top state on both,” the report said.

DeSantis’ popularity and principled approach to politics may explain why former President Donald Trump has said he would make a good vice-president if he ran in 2024.

DeSantis has previously dismissed 2024 rumors, calling them “nonsense.”

In November, he officially filed to run for reelection for governor in 2022. He also recently told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that’s he’s focused on being Florida’s governor.

“I’m not considering anything beyond doing my job,” he said.

According to an October poll conducted by Saint Leo University Polling Institute, DeSantis has a job-approval rating of 56% and double-digit leads over his Democratic challengers.