‘Florida is where woke does to die,’ Gov. Ron DeSantis tells Utah GOP during keynote speech

In politics, a few weeks can equal a lifetime. A month ago, when he was announced as the keynote speaker for the Utah Republican Party’s 2023 organizing convention, Ron DeSantis’ political star was rising. The Florida governor was considered a serious rival to Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Bringing him to Utah shortly before the expected launch of his White House bid was a massive coup for Beehive Republicans.

Fast forward to Saturday. DeSantis is still expected to run for president next year, but his prospects are significantly dimmer. Polls show Trump has opened up a significant lead over DeSantis, and enthusiasm for DeSantis among donors has cooled dramatically.

Still, Republican delegates at the UCCU Center on the Utah Valley University campus Saturday were enthusiastic about DeSantis coming west.

“I’m interested to hear what he has to say,” said Davis County delegate Sherry Paul. “I’ve been following some of the good things he’s done in Florida.”

When he hit the stage on Saturday morning, DeSantis served up the political red meat Republican delegates were craving. During a roughly 45-minute speech, attendees leaped to their feet to applaud his attention-grabbing battles over a myriad of initiatives his administration has spearheaded in Florida.

“Utah is one of the best-governed states in the United States,” DeSantis said to a loud cheer from delegates. “Utah, like Florida, is where freedom works. Maybe Florida is the Utah of the southeast,” DeSantis added.

“I’m not like some of these Republicans who get into office and act like potted plants. We are going on offense. I’m not going to let the left define the terms of debate. I’m not going to let the media bully me,” DeSantis said.

Attendees loudly cheered when DeSantis touted his state’s response to COVID, his fight against Disney and pushback against the perceived indoctrination of students in Florida schools. One of the biggest ovations was for what has become a mantra for DeSantis — railing against “wokeness.”

“It’s what I refer to as the ‘woke mind virus.’ We will never surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke does to die,” DeSantis said.

Meet the new boss

The main event at Saturday’s convention, the election of a new party chair, will be an anticlimactic affair. Rob Axson is unopposed in the race to succeed Carson Jorgensen, who called it quits after a two-year term.

The GOP is the dominant political party in the state, holding every statewide office, the entire congressional delegation and supermajorities in the Utah House and Senate. There are nearly four registered Republicans for every Democrat.

Despite that partisan superiority, Axson says his work is cut out for him.

“Is the Republican Party strong in Utah? If you’re talking about the number of people who consider themselves Republicans, of course, it’s strong,” Axson says. “The apparatus, the structure, the funding, the technology, all of those elements that support people, that’s been very weak.”

Axson takes over a party barely in the black financially after years of financial troubles. According to the latest financial disclosures, there’s less than $20,000 in their bank account.

This story will be updated throughout the day during the Uta Republican Party convention.

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