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The Inquiry: Can Ron DeSantis win the White House?

Can Ron DeSantis win the White House?

01/06/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - The Inquiry, Can Ron DeSantis win the White House?

Do the Republican Party have a strong contender for the White House in Ron DeSantis?

As Ron DeSantis makes his mark as Florida’s Governor, can his brand of cultural conservatism win him Republican votes across the US in the 2024 Election campaign?

Ron DeSantis, the governor of the US State of Florida has now declared his republican nomination for the 2024 Presidential Election.   He’s the latest in a line of republican contenders keen to take on President Joe Biden for the White House.

Since his appointment as Florida’s governor in 2018, Ron DeSantis has been busy stamping his own brand of cultural conservatism on the ‘Sunshine State’, including limits on abortions and restricting sex and gender identity education in schools.  The latter, known officially as the Parental Rights In Education Act’,  denounced by critics as ‘Don’t Say Gay’, has led to an ongoing legal battle with Disney over their criticism of the Act. 

Ron DeSantis claims that his ‘Florida Blueprint’ can act as a guide for Federal Policies.  But before that, he’s got an uphill battle to unseat his former political mentor Donald Trump. The former President is currently leading the Republican field in the polls and he’s not wasted any time in attacking Ron DeSantis on a number of fronts, from insults and nicknames, to criticising some of his policies. 

This week on the Inquiry we’re asking ‘Can Ron DeSantis win the White House?’

Contributors: 
Aubrey Jewett, Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida, Orlando.
Matt Terrill, Public Affairs, Firehouse Strategies, former Chief of Staff to the Marco Rubio for President Campaign. 
Ron Christie, Former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and North American Political Analyst for the BBC.
Dr. Julie Norman, Co-Director of the Centre on US Politics at University College London. 

Presenter:  Tanya Beckett
Producer:  Jill Collins
Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty  
Editor: Tara McDermott 
Technical Producer:  Kelly Young
Production Co-ordinator:  Brenda Brown

(Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library March 5 2023 Simi Valley, California. Credit: Mario Tarna/Getty Images)

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