DALLAS — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will headline the State Freedom Caucus Network dinner here on Friday, following a flurry of moves that have kept him in the national headlines and in conversations about the GOP’s 2028 race for White House.
Mr. DeSantis, who ran on his “Florida Blueprint” against President Trump in his failed 2024 GOP presidential primary bid, is term-limited in Florida, but his actions as governor signal he may be seeking to extend his political career after his term ends in 2027.
Mr. DeSantis has kept himself in the national political debate with first-in-the-nation policies such as moving to eliminate school vaccine requirements in Florida and giving voters a chance to weigh in on whether to eliminate property taxes.
“That would allow Floridians to be able to own their home without having to pay rent to the government,” Mr. DeSantis said of the no-property-tax plan.
A former GOP House lawmaker and founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, Mr. DeSantis is a welcome addition to the lineup at the convention.
“I’d love to hear an update on what is occurring in Florida. They always seem to be, because of him, at the tip of the spear on a lot of the freedom and liberty fights that we in the Freedom Caucus engage in,” Tim Jones, state director of the Missouri Freedom Caucus and former state House speaker, told The Washington Times. “There’s a lot of buzz around. ‘Who is going to continue the America First Trump message? Is that going to be J.D. Vance? Is that going to be [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio? Is that going to be Ron DeSantis?’”
Mr. DeSantis has signed a tranche of conservative legislation into law in recent months, including $2 billion in tax relief for individuals and businesses, more stringent penalties for criminal offenses and a package of public safety laws that increase the penalties for fleeing the police, animal cruelty, human trafficking and other crimes.
On Thursday, an appeals court ruled Mr. DeSantis can continue to operate Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz,” a first-of-its-kind detention facility in the Everglades that houses and deports illegal immigrants rounded up under the Trump administration’s push to deport illegal immigrants.
Louisiana state lawmaker and Freedom Caucus Chairwoman Beryl Amedee said she always “looks forward to hearing about the strides Florida is making under his clear conservative leadership. It provides us with ideas that we can emulate in Louisiana.”
She added, “Given the great gains by President Trump in such a very short time, I look forward to seeing where we are in another three years and assessing who will be the best fit to lead this country moving forward.”
Mr. DeSantis hasn’t indicated whether he’ll run for office again.
In 2024, Mr. DeSantis launched the Florida Freedom Fund political action committee that successfully worked to defeat separate ballot initiatives that would have legalized recreational marijuana and legalized abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Mr. Trump has suggested Mr. Vance and Mr. Rubio could lead a successful presidential ticket in 2028.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Tim Jones’ status with the Missouri legislature.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.