Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 6th district
In office January 3, 2013 – September 10, 2018
Preceded by
Cliff Stearns (redistricting)
Succeeded by
Michael Waltz
Personal details
Born
Ronald Dion DeSantis
(1978-09-14) September 14, 1978 (age 45) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Political party
Republican
Spouse
Casey Black
(m. 2009)
Children
3
Residence
Governor's Mansion
Education
Yale University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
Signature
Website
Official website
Military service
Branch/service
United States Navy
Years of service
2004–2010 (active) 2010–2019 (reserve)[1]
Rank
Lieutenant commander
Unit
Judge Advocate General's Corps United States Navy Reserve
Battles/wars
Iraq War
Awards
Bronze Star Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Iraq Campaign Medal
This article is part of a series about Ron DeSantis
Early life
Military service
Electoral history
Political positions
US House of Representatives
Tenure
Elections
2012
2014
2016
Governor of Florida
Tenure
Elections
2018
2022
Coronavirus response
Parental Rights in Education Act
Feud with Disney
Disney v. DeSantis
Stop WOKE Act
Martha's Vineyard migrant airlift
Florida Senate Bill 266
2024 presidential campaign
The Courage to Be Free
Endorsements
Primaries
v
t
e
Ronald Dion DeSantis (/dɪˈsæntɪs,diː-/; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving since 2019 as the 46th governor of Florida. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Florida's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018. DeSantis was a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, withdrawing his candidacy in January 2024.
Born in Jacksonville, DeSantis spent most of his childhood in Dunedin, Florida. He graduated from Yale University and Harvard Law School. DeSantis joined the United States Navy in 2004 and was promoted to lieutenant before serving as a legal advisor to SEAL Team One. He was stationed at Joint Task Force Guantanamo in 2006 and was deployed to Iraq in 2007. When DeSantis returned to the U.S. about eight months later, the U.S. attorney general appointed DeSantis to serve as a special assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida, a position he held until his honorable discharge from active military duty in 2010.
DeSantis was first elected to Congress in 2012 and was reelected in 2014 and 2016. During his tenure, he became a founding member of the Freedom Caucus and was an ally of President Donald Trump. He briefly ran for U.S. Senate in 2016 but withdrew when incumbent senator Marco Rubio sought reelection. DeSantis won the Republican nomination for the 2018 gubernatorial election and narrowly defeated the Democratic Party nominee, Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, in the general election by 0.4%.
DeSantis was governor during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as during Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole. He encouraged the passage of the Parental Rights in Education Act. In the 2022 gubernatorial election, he defeated former governor Charlie Crist by 19.4 percentage points, the state's largest margin of victory for a governor's election in 40 years.
On May 24, 2023, DeSantis announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president of the United States, and he continued to serve as governor during the campaign. On January 21, 2024, DeSantis withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Trump.[2]
DeSantis has written two books: Dreams From Our Founding Fathers, published before his first campaign for Congress in 2011, and The Courage to Be Free, published in 2023.
^Christensen, Dan, ed. (January 2023). "BIOGRAPHICAL DATA". Florida Bulldog. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023. Separation Date: Feb. 14, 2019.
^Nehamas, Nicholas; Haberman, Maggie; Swan, Jonathan (January 21, 2024). "Ron DeSantis Is Expected to Drop Out of the Presidential Race". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
Casey [@FLCaseyDeSantis] (March 30, 2020). "Ron and I are beyond blessed" (Tweet). Retrieved March 30, 2020 – via Twitter. "RonDesantis" (PDF). Vignette...
and the current first lady of Florida as the wife of Florida governor RonDeSantis. Jill Casey Black was born on June 26, 1980, the second child of Robert...
RonDeSantis has served as the 46th governor of Florida since January 8, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he narrowly defeated Democratic challenger...
On May 24, 2023, RonDeSantis, the 46th and current governor of Florida, announced his candidacy for the 2024 United States presidential election. He formerly...
Donald Tapia, U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica (2019–2021) (previously endorsed RonDeSantis) Monica Crowley, U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Public...
The political positions of RonDeSantis have been recorded from his 2012 election to the United States House of Representatives and his tenure as Representative...
Donald Trump vs. Gretchen Whitmer Nikki Haley vs. Joe Biden RonDeSantis vs. Joe Biden RonDesantis vs. Joe Biden vs. Cornel West Chris Christie vs. Joe Biden...
Iowa State Senator from the 47th district (2023–present) (switched from RonDeSantis) Joshua Whitehouse, New Hampshire State Representative from Strafford's...
organizations which have endorsed RonDeSantis to be the Republican Party's nominee in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. DeSantis withdrew his candidacy in...
Scott) George LeMieux, U.S. Senator from Florida (2009–2011) (endorsed RonDeSantis) Rob Portman, U.S. Senator from Ohio (2011–2023), Director of the Office...
Retrieved January 21, 2024. Tomazin, Farrah (April 14, 2022). "Meet RonDesantis, the Trump rival taking on 'woke' Disney in the culture wars". The Sydney...
This article describes the electoral history of RonDeSantis, the 46th and current governor of Florida and a former member of the United States House of...
Look up DeSantis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. DeSantis (or DeSantis or deSantis) is an Italian surname. Usage of the surname alone in American...
serving as rapid response director for the 2024 presidential campaign of RonDeSantis. She is a member of the Republican Party. Pushaw grew up in Malibu, California...
and Republican activist. He was a political associate and friend of RonDeSantis, who appointed Stermon to the Florida Board of Governors in 2019. He...
unnamed "generic" candidates. Hypothetical polling Kamala Harris vs. RonDeSantis Kamala Harris vs. Mike Pence Kamala Harris vs. Mike Pompeo Kamala Harris...
with Laura Ingraham in February 2024. Of those six, Florida Governor RonDeSantis declined to be considered that same month, while primary opponent Vivek...
other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Party governor RonDeSantis won re-election in a landslide and defeated the Democratic Party nominee...
non-incumbent in the Iowa Republican caucuses. Trump won 20 delegates, RonDeSantis won nine, Nikki Haley won eight, and Vivek Ramaswamy won three. Trump...
The debate featured eight candidates: Doug Burgum, Chris Christie, RonDeSantis, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson, Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Tim Scott...
(withdrew February 27, 2024) Chris Christie (withdrew January 10, 2024) RonDeSantis (withdrew January 21, 2024) Nikki Haley (withdrew March 6, 2024) Asa...
it was signed by Governor RonDeSantis on April 22, 2022, and entered into effect July 1 the same year. Intended by DeSantis to "fight back" against "woke...
Haley, Ryan Binkley, RonDeSantis, Chris Christie, and Vivek Ramaswamy. Trump was declared the winner of the primary. RonDeSantis (withdrawn) Former federal...
Bruce Rauner, Governor of Illinois (2015–2019) (switched support from RonDeSantis) John H. Sununu, Governor of New Hampshire (1983–1989) Deidre Henderson...
(withdrew February 27, 2024) Chris Christie (withdrew January 10, 2024) RonDeSantis (withdrew January 21, 2024) Nikki Haley (withdrew March 6, 2024) Objections...
take over RonDeSantis' base of power in the Florida GOP". NBC News. Retrieved November 1, 2023. Sczesny, Matt (May 17, 2023). "Gov. RonDeSantis continues...
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