佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯预计将击败他的民主党对手，前佛罗里达州州长查理·克里斯特，连任阳光州州长。
晚上8:30左右，克里斯特在家人的簇拥下，在他位于圣彼得堡的选举之夜总部发表了败选演讲。
半小时后，德桑蒂斯在坦帕发表胜选演讲，吹嘘自己战胜了“觉醒的意识形态”。
“我们拒绝觉醒的意识形态，”他说。“我们永远不会屈服于被唤醒的议程。人们来到这里是因为我们的政策。”
佛罗里达州州长的竞选在2008年总统大选前激烈进行中期选举季节现任州长是2024年总统选举中最有希望成为共和党候选人的人之一，他试图继续留在州长官邸，而不是在他之前住在那里的对手。
克里斯特于2007年至2011年作为共和党人担任佛罗里达州第44任州长。2010年，他没有寻求州长连任，而是竞选参议员席位。克里斯特在2010年的参议员竞选中输给了马尔科·卢比奥。
德桑蒂斯是一位雄心勃勃的共和党总统候选人，上周被乔·拜登总统描述为“唐纳德·特朗普的化身”，他不会在两人的州长辩论中承诺，如果连任，他将完成整个四年任期。
“我知道查理有兴趣谈论2024年和乔·拜登，但我只想把事情说得非常非常清楚，”在克里斯特要求明确他未来的职业规划后，德桑蒂斯回答道。"我唯一想放出去放牧的老驴是查理·克里斯特。"
除了德桑蒂斯的政治抱负，现任和前任州长还谈到了该州的堕胎法、新冠肺炎的授权以及德桑蒂斯决定使用税收资金将移民送往玛莎葡萄园岛，州长认为此举揭示了南部边境的“移民问题”。
克里斯特指责德桑蒂斯签署了一项限制堕胎权的法案，即使是在强奸或乱伦的情况下，而德桑蒂斯表示，如果克里斯特在过去几年担任州长，他会在新冠肺炎期间削弱企业，并允许更多的堕胎。
Charlie Crist, Democratic Gubernatorial candidate for Florida, President Joe Biden and Val Demings, Democratic Senatorial candidate for Florida at a campaign event, Nov. 1, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Fla.
吉姆·沃森/法新社通过盖蒂图片
克里斯特还在辩论中回忆起他担任州长的时候，形容自己是一个团结人民的人，并发誓不会剥夺佛罗里达人获得堕胎的权利。
国家的现行法律禁止15周后的手术，即使在强奸和乱伦的情况下，尽管有母亲健康和胎儿畸形的例外。法院正在审查这项禁令。
最近的选民登记趋势显示，迈阿密戴德县的共和党选民有所增加，该县以前被认为是民主党的大本营，美联社举报。据美联社报道，失去迈阿密戴德郡可能会消除民主党在未来全州选举中的胜利之路。
Ron DeSantis projected to defeat former Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is projected to defeat his Democratic rival, former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, to serve a second term as the Sunshine State's governor.
Crist gave a concession speech at his election night headquarters in St. Petersburg around 8:30 p.m. surrounded by his family.
DeSantis touted his victory over "woke ideology" during his victory speech a half hour later in Tampa.
"We reject woke ideology," he said. "We will never ever surrender to the woke agenda. People have come here because of our policies."
The race for Florida governor was heated in the lead-up to themidterm election seasonas the incumbent governor, one of the favorites to become the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election, sought to remain in the governor's mansion over an opponent who had lived there before him.
Crist served as Florida's 44th governor from 2007 to 2011 as a Republican. He did not seek reelection for governor in 2010, instead running for a seat in the Senate. Crist lost to Marco Rubio in the 2010 Senate race.
DeSantis, an aspiring GOP presidential candidate described by President Joe Biden last week as a "Donald Trump incarnate," would not commit at the pair's gubernatorial debate that he would serve out a full four-year term if reelected.
"I know that Charlie is interested in talking about 2024 and Joe Biden, but I just want to make things very, very clear," DeSantis replied after Crist demanded that make plain his future career plans. "The only worn-out old donkey I'm looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist."
Apart from DeSantis' political aspirations, the sitting and former governors riffed over the state's abortion laws, COVID-19 mandates and DeSantis' decision to use tax funds to send migrants to Martha's Vineyard, a move the governor argued shed light to the "immigration problem" at the southern border.
Crist accused DeSantis of signing a bill that would restrict that abortion rights, even in cases of rape or incest, while DeSantis stated that Crist would have weakened businesses during COVID-19 and allowed for more abortions had he served as governor in the past several years.
Crist also evoked his time as governor during the debate, describing himself as a uniter of people and vowing not to take away Floridian's ability to access abortion.
The state'scurrent lawbans the procedure after 15 weeks, even in cases of rape and incest, though there are exceptions for the health of the mother and fetal abnormalities. The ban is being reviewed by the courts.
Recent voter registration trends show an uptick of Republican voters in Miami-Dade County, previously considered a Democratic stronghold,The Associated Pressreported. Losing Miami-Dade County could eliminate a Democratic path to victory in future statewide elections, according to the AP.
