Gov. DeSantis, challenger Crist bring campaigns to South Florida voters
MIAMI - Governor Ron DeSantis and challenger Charlie Crist brought their campaigns to Broward County within 48 hours of each other.
Crist made stops Monday in Pinecrest and Hollywood, where he attended a church service.
DeSantis was in Coral Springs Sunday, where supporters gathered outside of the Wings Plus restaurant.
"Once people have reached a threshold where they've had enough, the first place they look to escape to is the free state of Florida. That's what's been happening," said Governor DeSantis from the stage. A large sign behind him read: "Freedom Lives Here."
"We are the most un-free state in America," said Crist when interviewed before the church service. "He doesn't respect a woman's right to choose or make her own decisions about healthcare or her body. He doesn't respect African-American voters having drop boxes in communities throughout the state of Florida. He doesn't respect LGBTQ children."
The two spoke about many topics where they were directly at odds with each other, including education.
DeSantis mentioned Parkland in the wake of the shooter's sentencing last week.
"My first week in office, we removed the sheriff of this county," he said. "We then convened a special grand jury that investigated failures, not just here, but other parts of the state about different types of school security, and that led to this report, where we then removed a number of the school board members who were derelict."
The Governor was referencing the removal of Broward school board members Laurie Rich Levinson, Patricia Good, Donna Korn and Ann Murray
Donna Korn and Patricia Good were seen in attendance at Crist's event Monday.
"He wants to be a dictator," said Crist about DeSantis. "He wants to tell us what to do. He wants to tell school boards what to do, and wants to tell local city councils what to do."
Another hot-button issue each brought up was immigration.
"Look at the stunt he pulled with migrants, flying them from Texas to Massachusetts, treating them like cattle. Who does that?" said Crist.
DeSantis spoke about border security and went on to say: "They [Democrats] only cared about it when they had illegal aliens showing up in New York City and Washington DC and Martha's Vineyard."
The two will go head-to-head next Monday at a debate in Fort Pierce.
DeSantis was in Pinellas County Monday. Crist is speaking in West Palm Tuesday.
