Throughout the halls of Gulf Breeze High School, Ron DeSantis is a well-known name. As the current Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis has made quite a wave in the political status quo in the United States. Ron DeSantis is furthering his influence, now currently in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election as a popular Republican candidate. 

I know I am not the only person who can strongly say that the past few years of U.S. politics has been an exhausted series of events. As a teenager who grew up across the South and attends Gulf Breeze High School, the policies coming from Tallahassee have both raised alarms and mixed emotions as I begin facing the reality that I am going to be a registered voter in the upcoming elections. This has brought a new relevancy of Governor DeSantis and his policies, and what they might mean if a DeSantis Administration moves into the White House. 

Throughout Governor DeSantis’ 1st term, I have personally taken numerous stances on his policies. During the Covid-19 pandemic, DeSantis resisted national calls to lock down the country, sending kids back to school and keeping Florida away from our commonly known pastime of wearing masks 24/7. I agreed with this as a child that became infected with Covid-19 multiple times but got through it unscathed. The Governor’s actions of giving Washington and our federal government a no struck a liking to a small central government, which I still believe to this day! DeSantis has made it publicly known that he is against supporting Ukraine with billions of U.S. taxpayer money, a hard stance on China, and his raging support towards the U.S. Armed Forces which I agree with drastically. Why spend money on another nation while national issues rage such as homelessness, inflation, & economic hardship? DeSantis has done a responsible job supporting the citizens of Florida against the game of tug-of-war with Washington, with Florida’s economy growing strong. 

Returning to the alarms that were raised by many DeSantis policies, a list is being filled. As a student, I disagree with his stance on “Critical Race Theory” and his comments toward people of color in the nation. In a Washington Post interview, DeSantis said, “They’re probably going to show that some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into doing things later in life.” In my eyes, I understand this quote to be a defense of slavery, marketing it as a job program, which I severely disagree with. While I don’t believe it should be taught widespread in schools, I believe it’s an important issue that does exist, especially in the former slave-state of Florida. As a gay teenage-male, I strongly disagree with his LGBT policies. While I agree on DeSantis’ protections of sports relating to transgender sports bans. I disagree with his policies against LGBT Floridians in the state, which genuinely scares me if he were to impose them federally. I believe it’s all become a political drama, used as a tactic to attack Florida Democrats and to create false issues, which will hurt people more than benefiting them or his agenda. While DeSantis started off as a figure supporting a limited government, I believe he has become a hypocrite, with Tallahassee creeping into our schools, LGBT people’s lives, & abortion where government opinions shouldn’t be prioritized over the people. 

On a federal level, DeSantis could form the United States into a bigger scale of his right-wing, “free” Florida. While I cannot say I fully support him, he undeniably helped the state of Florida economically and has a good stance on foreign policy/defense to me, which I believe is needed nationally from the Biden Administration. Some of his potential plans if he reaches the Oval Office could change the nation for the better, saving the nation from the known all to well Trump and Biden administration drama. I cannot strongly say I will vote for him as his actions in Florida make me rethink whether I will be safe and proud of my country if a DeSantis Administration is behind the wheel. The only thing I can do, alongside anyone reading this, is do my research, stay informed on debates/politics, and vote.