Polls show DeSantis’ style of leadership makes his re-election all but certain | Opinion

So long as voters go to the polls, Gov. DeSantis is primed to win reelection, and in a big way. This, according to the latest Rasmussen poll. On the topline number, the recent poll confirmed what other polls have also shown, that DeSantis is up by 10%. The Rasmussen poll has DeSantis with a double-digit lead over Charlie Crist with 54% support of likely voters.

More telling is what the Rasmussen Poll found digging deeper: 61% of all voters approve of how DeSantis is doing his job, nearly matching his ratings during the “honeymoon” period of his early months in office. Like many assertive public servants (Ronald Reagan comes to mind), DeSantis earns the grudging admiration even of those who oppose him politically. The results of the Rasmussen survey demonstrate that voters recognize how DeSantis exemplifies the Four Ps of true leadership: Principle. Pulse. Professionalism. And Perseverance.

Standing on principle, a trait greatly admired in statesmen, is not merely about keeping a finger to the political winds like his opponent, and not just “leading from behind” by chasing popular opinion, but affirmatively shaping it. Florida voters favored, by a strong 52%-29%, the rock-solid principle that has been the foundation of DeSantis’ governing philosophy: offering more individual freedom than other states.

Moreover, respondents supported specific policies that emphasized personal liberty in dealing with the COVID pandemic. An overwhelming 70% favored the governor’s push for the freedom of families to return their children to schools for in person instruction and a whopping 74% favored his decision to let enterprises reopen more quickly than other jurisdictions.

Those responses indicate that in appending a new moniker to the Sunshine State — “The Free State of Florida” — DeSantis also has his finger on the pulse of the people (the second hallmark of great leadership), without pandering.

On three separate questions — how much freedom the state gives individual citizens, how much control the state gives parents over their children’s education and how many regulations and restrictions it imposes on businesses — solid pluralities respond, “about the right balance.”

In addition, an appreciable majority of everyday Floridians — 53% to 39% — strongly or somewhat approve of the practice pursued by DeSantis and other border-state leaders of sending undocumented migrants to Martha’s Vineyard and other pro-illegal immigration locations.

A third hallmark of DeSantis’ leadership style is professionalism. Voters appreciate his professionalism and competence in dealing with complex issues. It is apparent he has governed on the basis of facts and evidence. On COVID, in particular, the data told the DeSantis team that it should prioritize protecting senior citizens. Hence his actions to rush personal protective equipment and National Guard medical teams to nursing homes and keep sick elderly coronavirus patients out of nursing homes — while, again, allowing others maximum freedom of movement and choice.

Another recent high point of Gov. DeSantis’ competent and professional approach came to light in the Rasmussen poll, where 63% rated his on-the-front-lines, ahead-of-the-curve response to the Hurricane Ian disaster as “excellent” or “good,” with only 11% poor.

The final element of DeSantis’ leadership style is perseverance — guts. On every matter, he has been subjected to withering, callous and often cruel criticism by political opponents, the media and elite institutions. DeSantis was vilified for his data-based common-sense approach to the pandemic. His efforts to protect kindergartners and empower parents in schools were mischaracterized. His freedom agenda has been mocked in an attempted campaign by, of all people, the governor of California. Yet, Florida voters value of our state’s attempts to create an atmosphere conducive for business to have economic freedom (contrary to businesses leaving California, 56% agreed that the Florida attracts business to the state).

With political freedom also comes economic freedom. Florida remains the No. 1 state in new business openings and just reported the lowest unemployment rate in history at a paltry 2.5%.

The governor has stood strong, protected our freedoms, kept our businesses open and returned our children to school. While outsiders may criticize, the Rasmussen poll confirms what Floridians know —DeSantis trusts and protects our freedoms in Florida.

Given the findings of the Rasmussen poll, it stands to reason that voters in Florida are ready to re-elect the governor in overwhelming fashion.

Edward J. Pozzuoli is the president of the law firm Tripp Scott, based in Fort Lauderdale. Click here to listen to his podcast interview with pollster Scott Rasmussen.