FL Governor's Election 2022: DeSantis, Crist Tour State To Sway Voters

FLORIDA — Hoping to sway those voters who are still vacillating before they go to the polls Tuesday, both Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and his opponent, Democrat Charlie Crist, spent the weekend campaigning across the state.

Crist, the former Florida governor and attorney general who spent the past five years serving in Congress, said he plans to continue stumping for votes during his "Choose Freedom Bus Tour" right up until election day.

DeSantis is seeking his second term as governor, and his moves to keep Florida open during the pandemic and his controversial stances on LGBTQ rights, abortion access and immigration have propelled him into the national spotlight. Pundits, as well as Crist, have speculated that DeSantis will challenge former President Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.

Recent polls put DeSantis 10 to 12 percentage points ahead of Crist. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian's devastation along the southwest Florida coast DeSantis was widely praised for deploying state and federal aid to reach barrier islands and restore power and water to thousands.

While early voting ended in Florida counties over the weekend, residents with vote-by-mail ballots have until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8, to turn them in. Election day polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. statewide.

If you’re not sure where to vote, you can look up your polling station here.

Biden Rallies For Crist

Last week's stops included a rally Nov. 1 at the HBCU, Florida Memorial University, in Miami Gardens with President Joe Biden and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Val Demings.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert said the choice is a no-brainer.

"You can actually vote for a governor who wants to unite us, who has a leader's heart, or you can vote for someone who spends every waking minute dividing us and breaking our unity," he said.

"Charlie is a guy you know and trust," Biden told the audience. "He’s always, always working for you, fighting for working families like yours. He was a great governor before, and he’d make an even greater governor again because of who he’s going to be replacing."

Speaking on two major issues in Crist's platform — the right for a woman to choose and the freedom for a transgender person to obtain gender affirmation surgery, both of which DeSantis opposes, Biden said, "Democracy is on the ballot this year, along with your right to choose and the right to privacy."

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Later, at a private reception for Crist in Golden Beach, Biden touched on what he sees as a rise in extremism in the Republican Party, including antisemitic chanting at GOP rallies, "the same antisemitic bile that was chanted in Germany in the ‘30s," he said.

"This is not your father’s Republican Party. This is a different group of people.," he said. "Charlie is running against Donald Trump incarnate."

He said the Republican party is intent on dividing the country by riling up fringe groups, including white supremacists.

"His (Crist's) opponent (DeSantis) is demonizing anyone who disagrees with him. There’s a lot of unstable people in a population as large as ours," he said. "And they're hearing every single day these outrageous lies. And so look, folks, there’s a lot at stake — a whole lot at stake. And we need someone with Charlie’s integrity and intelligence. It matters for a state like Florida."

Among the stops on Crist's tour was a visit to the LGBTQ Victory Center in Wilton Manors, where Crist reminded voters of DeSantis' failure to answer Crist's question during the candidates' single debate Oct. 24.

"He won't square with the people of Florida on whether or not he will even serve a full term," said Crist, noting that DeSantis refused to say if he planned to make a bid for the White House in 2024. "He was like a deer in the headlights. He just stood there for 10 seconds in one of the most pregnant pauses I've ever seen in my life."

He said DeSantis is more interested in campaigning out of state, garnering campaign funds and votes for a run for the presidency, than dealing with the problems impacting Floridians today.

"We've been ranked by Forbes as one of the most expensive states to live in in America — more than California, more than New York. That's appalling," Crist said. "What's happened is our governor has taken his eye off the ball."

He said, if elected, his focus will be strictly on Florida.

"I know that in the next few days, a lot of people are making up their minds and, if they want a governor who's going to protect a woman's right to choose, if they want a governor who makes sure utility rates are kept down, that our property insurance rates that are skyrocketing we can bring down, then they should vote for Charlie Crist. I did it as their attorney general and their governor."

DeSantis Brings Country Superstar On Campaign Tour

Meanwhile, DeSantis wrapped up his weeklong "Keep Florida Free Tour" during which he made a surprise appearance on stage during a country music concert with Luke Bryan in Jacksonville.

His campaign speeches have focused on the actions he took to keep Florida open during the pandemic, to protect students and workers from mandatory COVID-19 vaccines and masks and his efforts to protect parental rights through the Parental Rights in Education Law, which bans instruction in public schools on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

"It is wrong to teach kids in elementary school that their gender is a choice," he said. "It is wrong to tell an 8-year-old that they were born a girl but they really may be a boy."

As for the high cost of living in Florida that Crist blamed on DeSantis, the governor said inflation is the result of Biden's misguided energy policies and overspending.

"When you're paying more at the grocery store, you can thank Joe Biden," he said.

At a stop at Starkey Market in Pasco County Wednesday night, DeSantis focused on his successes in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, rebuilding the causeways and bridges to reconnect Sanibel and Pine islands to the mainland and restoring power to the impacted parts of the state.

"You had the quickest power restoration in recorded hurricane history," he said.

From Friday through Monday, DeSantis embarked on an ambitious 13-stop "Don't Tread on Florida tour," and immediately embarked on his ambitious 13-stop "Don't Tread on Florida Tour," discussing his success at recruiting retired first responders and veterans to serve as teachers during the statewide teacher shortage while raising the starting salaries for teachers and holding the line on the cost of tuition at state universities.

“A college degree should not put our students into a lifetime of debt,” said DeSantis. “Florida’s public college and university system is No. 1 in the country because we put students first and this achievement proves we are on the right track. We will continue to prioritize offering a world-class education at an affordable price, providing the greatest value for our students.”

Getting Out The Vote

To avoid delays at the polling place, voters should bring one or two forms of current identification that include their signature and photo. Without proper identification, residents may still vote a provisional ballot, which will later be evaluated by a canvassing board for eligibility.

Any of the following forms of photo identification are acceptable:

• Florida driver's license
• Florida ID card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
• U.S. passport
• Debit or credit card
• Military ID
• Student ID
• Retirement center ID
• Neighborhood association ID
• Public assistance ID
• Veteran health ID issued by the Veterans Administration
• Concealed weapons license
• Government employee ID

If your photo ID does not include your signature, you will be asked to provide another ID that has your signature.

For those who received a vote-by-mail ballot but decided to vote in person instead, the vote-by-mail ballot can be canceled at the polls.

When you arrive at the polls:

1. Check in with your valid and current photo and signature ID.
2. Receive your paper ballot and proceed to a privacy booth.
3. Using the black pen provided, completely fill in the oval next to each of your selections.
4. Review your ballot. If you wish to make changes, request another ballot.
5. If you have any questions, ask a poll worker before you insert the ballot in the scanner. Once a ballot has been accepted, it cannot be retrieved.

If you are satisfied with your selections:

• Take your ballot to the optical scanner in the secrecy folder provided.
• Insert your ballot into the optical scan feeder.
• The scanner will record your votes and place your ballot into the locked ballot box.
• The scanner will alert you if your ballot appears blank or if it detects too many votes.
• You will have the option to either submit the ballot as is or make changes.
• You are not required to vote in every race or for every issue on the ballot; therefore, the scanner will not alert you of instances in which you did not vote.

Florida polls close at 7 p.m. local time. However, since Florida has two time zones (Central and Eastern), preliminary election night results will not be released until 8 p.m. Eastern Time.