Daytona Beach, FL - Florida Governor-elect Ron DeSantis plans to celebrate his victory last month with supporters throughout Central Florida this weekend, including in the Daytona Beach area.
Officials with the Volusia County Republican Party are helping state party leaders organize an event Saturday afternoon (December 8th) at Port Orange's Riverside Pavilion (3431 South Ridgewood Avenue). It's scheduled to start at 3 o'clock, with doors opening to the public an hour before, according to VCRP Chair Tony Ledbetter.
"I got a call on Monday (December 3rd) to help them find a location," Ledbetter added. "I think the reason they picked this location is that's where we're having our Christmas party Tuesday night (December 11th). The advance people [for DeSantis] saw it and wanted to go there."
Newly elected Republican Congressman Michael Waltz - who takes over DeSantis' former United States House seat after defeating Democrat Nancy Soderberg on November 6th - is scheduled to be at that Christmas party.
According to the VCRP Facebook page, Saturday's event will be the final of three "Thank You" tour stops DeSantis will make that day, with the first in New Port Richey before he heads east to The Villages and then Port Orange.
It underscores the importance the Interstate 4 corridor had in DeSantis' tight win over Democrat Andrew Gillum during the midterm elections, per Ledbetter.
"I'd say 80% of the [I-4 corridor] counties came through and did what they needed to do [to secure victory for DeSantis]," Ledbetter stated. "[Volusia] overproduced where other counties underproduced."
Around 500 people are expected to attend the free event, but those who are going are encouraged to reserve a spot online through Eventbrite so organizers have a rough idea of how many will actually show.
The last time DeSantis visited the area was just before the election, with over 1,000 people reserving a spot on EventBrite before it was cut off by event organizers due to a lack of capacity at the VCRP office in South Daytona.
That's the same location which needed two plate glass windows replaced after someone fired at least four rounds into the empty office a few days before Halloween. The case is still being investigated by the South Daytona Police Department.
