Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida received a hero’s welcome on Tuesday night, as he addressed an audience of leading Republicans minutes before Trump announced he was launching a 2024 White House bid.
DeSantis, who last week won a landside re-election victory for a second term steering Florida, garnered a standing ovation from the audience as he delivered a keynote conversation at the Republican Governors Association’s winter meeting in Orlando, according to multiple sources in the room.
According to one source, DeSantis spotlighted his "impressive re-election campaign" and how he won Maimi-Dade County, connecting with Hispanic voters.
Another source told Fox News that governor received an "enthusiastic" response as he "recapped the Florida blueprint and the path to winning Hispanics, women, and independents."
And a third source added that the speech received a very warm reception from an audience that is energized about the possibilities of taking the DeSantis model and applying it to battleground states across the country.
Multiple sources said that the margins DeSantis was able to run up in his re-election victory last week and his efforts on issues like education and on battling "woke curriculum" received some of the strongest applause of the evening.