Gov. Ron DeSantis left the presidential campaign trail and returned to Florida in the wake of a racially motivated mass shooting in Jacksonville and a hurricane barreling toward the state’s west coast.
Mr. DeSantis, who is running second in many Republican presidential primary polls behind former President Donald Trump, spent Monday in Florida, where he declared a state of emergency in 46 counties that are in the path of Tropical Storm Idalia. The storm is expected to make landfall this week as a hurricane.
“When you have a situation like this, you’ve got to put the interest of the people first,” Mr. DeSantis said at a press conference Monday in Tallahassee. “There’s a time and a place to have political season, but then there is a time and a place to say that this is something that is life-threatening, this is something that could potentially cost somebody their life, it could cost them their livelihood and we have a responsibility to come together as Americans and do what we can to mitigate any damage and protect people.”
Mr. DeSantis will skip a planned political event in South Carolina, one of a trio of states where he has been campaigning with intensity this summer and where he hopes Republicans seeking an alternative to Mr. Trump will give him a strong showing next winter.
Florida’s first lady, Casey DeSantis, will appear on her husband’s behalf on Monday at South Carolina’s 12th Annual Faith & Freedom BBQ, billed as the state’s largest gathering of conservatives.
Mr. DeSantis on Monday spoke to President Biden and officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency about Florida’s storm preparation. The governor also huddled with officials from the state’s utilities as well as local sheriffs and government officials.
The governor trails Mr. Trump by double digits but leads the rest of the GOP pack in many polls.
Mr. DeSantis returned to Florida on Sunday following a deadly mass shooting in Jacksonville that police said was racially motivated.
He was booed by some community activists at a vigil for the three Black victims, who were gunned down in a store by a man who had penned a racist manifesto.
On Monday, Mr. DeSantis announced a $1.1 million grant to help the victims of the shooting and the historically Black Edward Waters University after the shooter killed three people near the campus.
“We are not going to let our [historically black colleges and universities] be targets for hateful scumbags,” Mr. DeSantis said.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.