Floridians Pay The Price of Ron DeSantis’ Divisive, Self-Serving Agenda

This week, Ron DeSantis escalated his rampage to divide Floridians and push his hyper-partisan agenda — instead of taking action to address the biggest challenges hurting Florida families, like skyrocketing housing prices and some of the highest health care costs in the country.

Here’s how DeSantis’ partisan wars hurt Florida schools, communities, and taxpayers this week:

• Eliminating Representation for Minority Communities: DeSantis submitted a new congressional map proposal in an attempt to punish voters who disagree with him and handpick who Florida sends to congress. The egregious and unconstitutional map slashes the number of prominently Black districts in Florida from four to two and eliminates Florida’s 5th District entirely – all despite the fact Florida passed a fair districts plan with 63% support.

• Banning Over 40% of Math Textbooks in Schools: DeSantis’ administration is banning 40% of all math textbooks proposed in Florida public schools. He still won’t name the books being banned, but after widespread backlash, he did release just examples of prohibited content from just 4 of the 54 banned books. One book was banned for teaching children to empathize with others, making it even more clear that DeSantis’ move is just another political ploy that will hurt kids in schools.

• Exacting Political Revenge Even Though It Could Cost Florida Taxpayers Billions: DeSantis’ revenge against Disney for speaking out against DeSantis’ anti-LGBTQ+ “Don’t Say Gay” bill will most likely raise taxes for Floridians to the tune of $2 billion, reports say. Some estimate that DeSantis’ political revenge scheme could raise property taxes by as much as 25% at a time when Floridians are already struggling with skyrocketing housing costs.

DGA Deputy Communications Director Sam Newton said, “Floridians are paying the price of Ron DeSantis’ never-ending partisan wars. His divisive and selfish political crusade is making the challenges that Florida communities struggle with — like rising housing prices — worse. It’s time DeSantis started actually fighting for people in his state, instead of just trying to promote himself.”