South Daytona, FL - A week ago, the Volusia County Republican Party headquarters in South Daytona was the site of a crime.
Today (November 4th), it was where hundreds of local Republicans gathered to rally for the man they hope will defeat Andrew Gillum on Election Day.
Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis emerged out of a black sport utility vehicle which pulled into the parking lot near the office on 2841 South Nova Road around 2 o'clock this afternoon.
Security men escorted him and other notables alongside him - former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, outgoing Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and running mate Jeanette Nunez - through the supportive crowd gathered outside.
All four of them and DeSantis' wife, Casey, spoke to that crowd on a raised platform before escaping the sun by going into the office, where another big crowd awaited them. Giuliani pulled no punches in his endorsement of DeSantis, stating that his Democrat opponent shouldn't have even bothered to run based on his performance as Tallahassee's mayor, citing, in particular, the city's murder rate.Packed crowd at @RecvcOrg waiting for @RepDeSantis to show up. #Volusia #Election2018 pic.twitter.com/lSCBTUTRVm
— News Daytona Beach (@NewsDaytonaBch) November 4, 2018
Giuliani also took Gillum to task for pushing socialist policies and accepting money from an undercover FBI agent as part of a corruption probe which Gillum insists he's not the target of, saying he should resign as mayor of Tallahassee. "I don't understand why this race is close at all," Giuliani said, referencing recent polling which shows DeSantis and Gillum neck and neck. "I think [DeSantis] is gonna win by 10 points."
DeSantis stuck to a similar theme when he took the mic from Giuliani, saying that Gillum was anti-law enforcement, anti-Israel and would sink the state economically by raising taxes..@RudyGiuliani stumps for @RonDeSantisFL in #SouthDaytona as #ElectionDay nears in #Florida. #Election2018 pic.twitter.com/lMnNNKNLP7
— News Daytona Beach (@NewsDaytonaBch) November 4, 2018
Speaking to reporters afterward, DeSantis says his appearance in Daytona Beach - an area he used to represent while a member of the U.S. House of Representatives - underscores how important Central Florida will be in deciding Rick Scott's replacement. "This is a great area for me because I've represented it, but I also know just how hard the local folks have worked over the years to really turn out strong [vote] performances for the President, for Congressional races," DeSantis added. "I think you're going to see that done again and that's a really, really big deal." DeSantis also said last weekend's shooting incident, which remains unsolved at this point, was "very concerning", but expressed confidence in the local GOP leaders and staffers. "It seems like that was a political motive when you do it against a political party," DeSantis noted. "Y'know, these folks are tough and they don't let anything deter them." DeSantis says he plans to vote in his home county of St. Johns on Election Day before going to Orlando that night to see who will become Florida's next governor.
