A few hours after finishing second in the Iowa Caucuses, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis looked chipper and sounded optimistic in his first campaign event on Jan. 16 in Greenville, South Carolina. With many pundits trying to count him out and many networks calling the Jan. 15 race for former President Donald Trump before many Iowans […]

The conservative vote-monitoring organization True the Vote’s challenges to Georgia voters’ eligibility did not amount to voter intimidation in the 2020 elections, a federal judge ruled on Jan. 2. U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones, in a 145-page ruling issued a little less than two months after the end of a civil trial, found that […]

Christmas in Jesus’s birthplace is a muted affair this year, with the Holy Land cloven by war. The war in Gaza rages, with thousands of civilian casualties, Israelis still held hostage, and many more back home still reeling from the Oct. 7 attacks. Bethlehem, along the flight path of rockets Hamas in Gaza fires at […]

LAS VEGAS—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has one advantage over his Republican rivals, who also spoke at the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) summit in Las Vegas. He’s in power right now in a large state with a significant Jewish population, and his party controls both houses of the Legislature. Campaigning for the 2024 presidential nomination before […]

LAS VEGAS–Just four days into his new role as House Speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) made his first speech at a public event, declaring to a largely Jewish audience:  “We are going to stand like a rock with our friend and our ally, Israel.” Mr. Johnson, who was elected to his role on Oct. 25, […]

Former President Donald Trump surrendered himself to authorities at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on Aug. 24 at roughly 7:36 p.m. local time. He was released on a $200,000 bond in about 20 minutes after going through the booking process, including fingerprinting and having his picture taken for a mug shot—the first ever […]

Republican candidates debating in Milwaukee all said they’re pro-life. But they differed on whether to go with six-week “heartbeat” limits for abortion or 15-week limits, and whether last year’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade sends the issue back to the states or whether the federal government still plays a role. The first question went […]

Those at Erick Erickson’s “The Gathering” in Atlanta on Aug. 19 saw two sides of Chris Christie. The first side was on stage in the 45 minutes the former New Jersey governor spent chatting amiably with Mr. Erickson, the Atlanta-based conservative talk radio host. Mr. Christie talked about the issues of the day—the challenge of […]

ATLANTA—In a bizarre turn of events, Georgia briefly posted online—then removed—a two-page list of charges against former President Donald Trump on Aug. 14. The posting (pdf) came amid reports that a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, was still hearing testimony from witnesses regarding the former president’s challenge of the 2020 election results and his […]

Lawyers for Disney World’s new governing board support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s motion asking a federal judge to abstain from—or dismiss—the giant entertainment company’s lawsuit against him. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District was created after Mr. DeSantis moved last year to strip Disney of the self-governing powers it had enjoyed for more than half […]

Monique Worrell, the Orlando-area state attorney removed from her position by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Aug. 9, had been on his radar for a while. She was one of the high-profile big-city prosecutors nationally, supported by liberal philanthropist George Soros, who advocate releasing many defendants or dropping charges against them to pursue a social justice […]

The new district board overseeing Disney World in Florida has eliminated its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, including a DEI board. In February, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation creating the new board and abolishing its predecessor, which was tightly linked with the primary business it regulated— Disney World. The act was part of Mr. […]

Talking to New Hampshire voters on June 27, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis outlined his plans to “reconstitutionalize” the federal government, including constitutional amendments he’d like to see passed. DeSantis, a Republican seeking his party’s nomination in the 2024 presidential race, took probing questions from the state’s famously independent-minded voters, including from some wanting to know […]

Ron DeSantis rolled out a detailed plan to secure the nation’s borders, something he’s said he’ll begin implementing on the first day of his presidency—if elected. Speaking in Eagle Pass, Texas—on the Rio Grande River on June 26—the Florida governor and candidate for the Republican nomination touted a plan listing 35 actions he commits to […]

Former President Donald Trump will deliver a speech at the Republican state convention in Georgia on June 10, his first public appearance after his federal indictment in the classified document probe. Republican governor Brian Kemp and his cabinet are not expected to attend the convention, which kicked off on June 9. Kari Lake, a prominent Trump […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis went to work in a key early primary state on June 2 as he began introducing himself to the voters of South Carolina. The state poses a particular challenge: it is home to not one but two of DeSantis’s declared challengers for the Republican nomination, a popular former governor in Nikki […]

Ron DeSantis has been busy the last week since officially launching his bid for the presidency. Amid a flurry of campaign appearances in his own state and Iowa, the Florida governor continues to govern. DeSantis has signed dozens of bills that are still landing on his desk after the legislative session that concluded on May […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis paid a price on the opening night of his campaign for gambling on a new launch format, with the Twitter chatroom crashing after some 600,000 listeners attempted to tune in. But after tech issues were resolved, the conversation on Twitter Spaces—with billionaire Elon Musk and investor David Sacks—quickly turned to policy, […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he can win the Republican presidential nomination over Donald Trump because he’s broadly acceptable to Republicans. He says he will then beat Joe Biden in the general election because he has the proven strength to appeal to independents. “I won 97 percent of Republicans in my reelection,” DeSantis said in […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he is running for president in a video posted to Twitter on May 24. “I’m Ron DeSantis. And I’m running for president to lead our great American comeback,” DeSantis says in the short campaign launch video posted to Twitter minutes ahead of his Twitter Spaces conversation with one of the world’s richest […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears very close to announcing his long-rumored presidential candidacy, challenging former President Donald Trump and others for the 2024 Republican nomination. But news outlets quoting anonymous tipsters—promising a planned May 25 filing in Miami of required federal campaign documents—shouldn’t be trusted, a source close to DeSantis told The Epoch Times. And […]

Five bills designed to “let kids be kids” were signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 17. One outlaws transgender surgery and puberty blockers for minors. Another halts what DeSantis called “the pronoun Olympics” in Florida schools. Another bans the presence of minors at sexually explicit entertainment such as drag shows. A […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has just signed bills that will cut the legs out from under woke education programs at state colleges and universities. In a signing ceremony on May 15 at Sarasota’s New College—whose recent reform has been a hallmark of DeSantis’s anti-woke campaign—the governor signed one bill, Senate Bill 266, that eliminates funding […]

Signing four medical freedom bills in Destin on May 11—including one making Florida the first state to ban controversial “gain of function” research—Gov. Ron DeSantis recounted his lonely fight against national health authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. He spoke to an enthusiastic crowd that gave him such a long-standing ovation when he walked in that […]

After a flurry of bill-signing throughout the week, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis signed into law two more measures on May 12—one banning central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the state, and the other protecting the privacy of gun buyers. Allowing centralized digital currency would give too much power to the federal government, DeSantis said at a […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed three bills on May 8 limiting Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence in Florida. In a ceremony in Brooksville, the governor signed a measure prohibiting the CCP—or other foreign countries of concern—from buying agricultural land anywhere in Florida, or making land purchases within 10 miles of sensitive locations such as military […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill curbing financial companies’ use of ESG principles to govern investment or lending decisions in the state. According to DeSantis ESG—environmental, social, and governmental—has become a backdoor way for companies to impose woke values on communities that would never approve such things at the ballot box. At […]

Disney’s new oversight board voted on May 1 to sue the giant entertainment corporation in state court and to defend itself against the company’s federal lawsuit. Meanwhile, in Florida’s Northern District federal court, U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin Fitzpatrick recused himself on April 28 from Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, citing a conflict of […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doubled down on his war with the Disney company, saying the legislature will soon invalidate the company’s last-minute moves to circumvent the new state-appointed board governing its special district. In a speech in Lake Buena Vista on April 17, DeSantis said he was confident the special district’s new board—at its meeting […]

A Florida Senate bill filed on Thursday—as news of former President Donald Trump’s indictment in Manhattan broke—is, in fact, the “resign-to-run” bill that will permit Gov. Ron DeSantis to keep his post if he runs for president. Under current state law, DeSantis would have to resign his post—effective later but irrevocably—if he qualifies to run […]

Proclaiming Florida the best state for choice in education, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida’s universal school choice bill into law on March 27, giving every family educational options as “the money follows the child.” “Florida is number one when it comes to education freedom and education choice, and today’s bill signing represents the largest expansion […]

PANAMA CITY, Fla.—Gov. Ron DeSantis denounced federal consideration of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) on March 20 and called for the state legislature to ban it in Florida and for other states to do the same. DeSantis, who is expected to declare his candidacy for president, has used daily press conferences to showcase his […]

PANAMA CITY, Fla.—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for pursuing his criminal investigation against former President Donald Trump for alleged hush money payments to adult performer Stormy Daniels. He hasn’t received information about any indictment of Trump, who lives in Florida at Mar-a-Lago, he told reporters at a press conference on […]

At Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s press conference in Tampa on March 8, a staffer came out twice before it started: once to give the audience a heads-up that an upcoming video might be so offensive some might want to step out. She returned saying it was about to start and any children present needed to […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told the same story to state lawmakers on March 7 that he’s been telling nearly every day since he took the oath of office in January at the beginning of his second term. But this time, the presumed presidential candidate got to tell it to a joint session of the Florida […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis consigned Disney World’s self-governing status to the historical dustbin on Feb. 27 as he signed the bill setting up a new board to govern the Central Florida property, one of the world’s premier tourist destinations. DeSantis staged the bill with a backdrop not of the Magic Kingdom, but of a big […]

Underscoring his intention to combat what he said he saw as the Biden administration’s failed border policies, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced new initiatives to crack down on illegal immigration. Speaking in Jacksonville, DeSantis proposed attacking the problem from numerous directions. The new measures would toughen penalties for human smuggling, require all employers in the […]

Aiming squarely at Big Tech, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed a digital bill of rights for Floridians. If passed by the Legislature in the session beginning in March, it will enshrine in law various fundamental rights,  according to the governor’s office. Floridians will have the right to private, in-person conversations without Big Tech surveillance […]

Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed new laws restricting financial institutions from using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles to guide investment decisions. In a press conference held at Florida SouthWestern State College in Naples, Florida, on Feb. 13, DeSantis said he was partly acting to protect Florida public employees’ pensions, as ESG-driven investing may not […]

Florida legislators are considering House and Senate civil rights bills that protect residents from discrimination based on their vaccine or immunity status. The protection would extend to people concerning all vaccines, not just the increasingly controversial COVID shots. Senate Bill 222, sponsored by Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Fla.), and House Bill 305, sponsored by Rep. Webster […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed a $114.8 billion state budget for 2023-24. Calling it the Framework for Freedom Budget, DeSantis, who spoke at the state Capitol on Feb. 1, used it to showcase the state’s strengths under his leadership. “Florida’s focus on freedom has led us to outpace the nation on all fronts,” DeSantis […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a $7 billion initiative on Jan. 30 to speed up 20 infrastructure projects over the next four years to accommodate the growing number of people who rely on the state’s roadways. Speaking at a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) office in Auburndale, DeSantis said the Moving Florida Forward plan would […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced proposed legislation on Jan. 26 for a battery of law-and-order initiatives. Speaking at a press conference in Miami, the Republican governor told reporters he seeks crackdowns on fentanyl manufacturing and sex offenses against children. He also hopes to make it easier to get a death sentence in a capital case […]

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed a battery of education measures on Jan. 23 that he said would empower teachers, raise their pay, shorten term limits for school board members, and protect teachers from overreaching unions or school districts. Speaking at a charter school in Jacksonville, DeSantis ticked off points in the proposed legislation. Key among […]

Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis on Jan.17 said he’d seek to make permanent the state’s pioneering protections against COVID mask and vaccine mandates, and back physicians’ free speech. Speaking in Panama City Beach, DeSantis said he’d introduce legislation to carry that out in Florida’s upcoming legislative session. Earlier state-mandated measures were temporary and will expire on […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has demanded that state educational authorities report how much they spend on critical race theory (CRT) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the state’s higher education system. In a Dec. 28 memo, the governor’s office gave state Education Commissioner Manny Diaz and Ray Rodrigues, chancellor of the state university system, […]

TALLAHASSEE—Pledging to keep Florida growing and defend its freedom from what he called “the woke mob,” Gov. Ron DeSantis was sworn in today to a second term as governor of the nation’s third most populous state. In an outdoor ceremony at the state’s picturesque old state Capitol building, DeSantis took the oath of office along […]

Michelle Utter, a health care worker and single mother of grown sons who are active-duty military, said she was in great physical shape—running, working out, and martial arts—until she took the Pfizer vaccine for COVID. Utter described the ordeal she’s been through for the last two years—physically, trying to do her job and facing resistance […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Dec. 13 he will petition the state’s Supreme Court to impanel a grand jury “to investigate any and all wrongdoings in Florida with respect to the COVID-19 vaccines.” He made the announcement following a roundtable with Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo and a panel of scientists and physicians. “We’ll […]

Raphael Warnock won reelection late Tuesday evening in Georgia’s Senate runoff—a victory that will give the Democrats a 51–49 margin in the chamber. AP, Fox News, and CNN all called the race for Warnock around 10:30 p.m., with 94 percent of the vote counted and Warnock showing a 41,000 lead, about 1.2 percent. Then, at […]

With the nation’s eyes upon them, Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker wound up their campaigns with a flurry of activities over the weekend, as Georgia voters head to the polls on Tuesday for the runoff to see which of the two will go to the U.S. Senate. Warnock campaigned in Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, and […]

Early voting in Georgia’s Senate runoff between incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker is setting records, as it did before the November general election. More than half a million of the state’s 7 million active voters had already voted as the polls opened on Nov. 29. “Just … Wow!” Georgia’s Deputy Secretary of […]

There will be no debate in the runup to the Georgia Senate runoff on Dec. 6, with the Atlanta Press Club announcing Thursday it was canceling a debate scheduled for Nov. 21 because neither Raphael Warnock nor Herschel Walker had accepted. “The Atlanta Press Club believes debating is an important part of any election as […]

Chase Oliver knows his candidacy for U.S. Senate is a long shot. The Georgia Libertarian has raised about $15,000 as he competes with Democrat incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican nominee Herschel Walker, each of whom has raised millions. He hasn’t quit his day job. But Oliver believes he might produce an effect nationally. “In Georgia, we […]

Brian Kemp and Stacey Abrams’s second debate on Sunday night sounded a lot like their first one on Oct. 17. The two veteran candidates were on their games. Neither committed a notable gaffe or game-changing miscue. They sparred about things they’ve fought about before, bringing to bear the facts supporting their respective sides. They each […]

Governments around the country are reconsidering contracts with a firm whose CEO was arrested last week on allegations of illegally storing election workers’ personal data on servers in China. Eugene Yu was arrested on Oct. 5 near Lansing, Michigan—where his Konnech firm is based—on data theft charges lodged by Los Angeles County district attorney George […]

He’s not very polished, but Herschel Walker speaks to a crowd with a lot of conviction and drive. He takes the positions you expect a Republican to take, but finds the roots and reasons in his own life story. He talks about growing up poor in Wrightsville, Georgia. He talks about picking peas and cotton, […]

Speaking in Washington for the first time since his presidency and its turbulent end, Donald Trump didn’t say he was running for president in 2024. But he didn’t say he wasn’t. And sometimes, he sure sounded like it. Trump spoke to an adoring crowd gathered for the America First Agenda Summit. The America First Policy […]