佛罗里达州塔拉哈西共和党州长。罗恩·德桑蒂斯周二的国情咨文应该是关于佛罗里达州的未来。然而，爱荷华州更有可能是他最想去的地方。
启动佛罗里达州年度立法会议的演讲正好在爱荷华州首次全国总统预选会议前一周，最近几周，德桑蒂斯在鹰眼州的时间比阳光州多得多。
因此，如果他的第六个州是对爱荷华州选民的一个信息，也是对他对佛罗里达州的持续愿景的一个预测，那就不足为奇了。
“他肯定会说邦邦强。他至少要勾选这个框，但我怀疑他会利用他的国情咨文作为最后的努力，向全国捐助者和爱荷华州的选民推销，”众议院民主党领袖芬特里斯·德里斯科尔说。"他宁愿待在爱荷华州，也不愿待在佛罗里达。"
德桑蒂斯在去年发表演讲时正在计划总统竞选，这几乎不是什么秘密，很明显，他的信息是为了全国其他地区，吹捧他的保守派成就，并为他所谓的“佛罗里达蓝图”奠定基础。
但无论是蓝图，他与选民联系的困难，还是前总统唐纳德·特朗普不可动摇的基础，德桑蒂斯在艾奥瓦州的支持率自去年宣布参选以来下降了近一半。
与过去几年不同的是，德桑蒂斯会花几个月的时间在会议前预测他的优先事项，今年他在争取爱荷华州和新罕布什尔州的选民时基本上保持沉默。他的许多帮助他准备2023年国情咨文的工作人员现在都在爱荷华州。
前共和党参议员杰夫·布兰德斯(Jeff Brandes)说:“他的团队中有很多人现在正在竞选，所以你只能用骨干团队来管理。”“他不会希望在这里发生大量的战斗来分散对国家大局的注意力。今年，我所看到的立法机构没有一件事是惊天动地或具有突破性的。”
虽然会议开始后，德桑蒂斯将直接返回爱荷华州，但他仍将对立法者有强大的控制力。德桑蒂斯以报复性地使用他的预算项目否决权而闻名，共和党主导的立法机构已经表现出愿意做他想做的事情。
“州长对这些人训练有素，”布兰德斯说。“这些众议院和参议院的许多成员正在给州长办公室打电话，要求预先批准他们的立法，这是历史上从未见过的，至少在参议院是这样。”
议员们举行会议开幕式后，德桑蒂斯将在州议院发表演讲。这可能会突出他在过去几年中的成功，并提醒保守派他努力限制堕胎，禁止指导堕胎性少数群体+学校中的话题，阻止非法居住在该国的移民进入佛罗里达州，扩大枪支权利，抵制联邦政府关于新冠肺炎限制和待遇的建议。
DeSantis' State of the State address might be as much for Iowa voters as it is for Floridians
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --Republican Gov.Ron DeSantis' State of the State address on Tuesday is supposed to be about Florida's future. Iowa, though, is more likely at the front of his mind.
The speech kicking off Florida's annual legislative session comes exactly a week before Iowa's first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses, and DeSantis has been spending much more time in the Hawkeye State than the Sunshine State in recent weeks.
So it won't be a surprise if his sixth State of the State is as much a message to Iowa voters as it is a forecast of his continued vision for Florida.
“He will definitely say the state of the state is strong. He has to at least check that box, but I suspect he’s going to use his State of the State address as his last-ditch effort to pitch to national donors and to voters in Iowa,” House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell said. “He’d rather be on the ground in Iowa than he would be in Florida.”
It was hardly a secret DeSantis was planning a presidential run when he made last year's address, and it was clear his message was for the rest of the country, touting his conservative achievements and laying the groundwork to run on what he calls the “Florida blueprint.”
But whether it's the blueprint, his difficulty connecting with voters or simply former President Donald Trump's unshakable base, DeSantis' support in Iowa has dropped by nearly half since he announced his candidacy last year.
Unlike past years, when DeSantis would spend months forecasting his priorities ahead of the session, this year he has largely been silent as he woos Iowa and New Hampshire voters. Many of his staff who helped him prepare for the 2023 State of the State address are now in Iowa.
“A lot of his team is now on the campaign trail, so you’re managing with a skeleton crew,” former Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes said. “He’s not going to want a huge amount of fights here to distract from the national picture. Nothing I’ve seen coming out of the Legislature is earth shattering or groundbreaking this year.”
Although DeSantis will head straight back to Iowa after the session opens, he will still have a powerful grip on lawmakers. DeSantis has a reputation for the vengeful use of his budget line-item veto power and the Republican-dominated Legislature has shown a willingness to do what he wants.
“The governor has these people pretty much trained,” Brandes said. “Many of these House and Senate members are calling the governor’s office preclearing their legislation at a volume that historically you have not seen, at least in the Senate."
DeSantis' speech will be delivered in the state House chambers after lawmakers hold ceremonies opening the session. It likely will highlight his success over the last few years and remind conservatives of his efforts to restrict abortion, ban instruction onLGBTQ+ topics in schools, keep immigrants living in the country illegally out of Florida, expand gun rights and push back against federal government advice on COVID-19 restrictions and treatments.
