And as some in the crowd took up the chant, “Two more years!” DeSantis left no doubt: He’s running. 

And he’s running as Ronald Reagan, all primary colors and, with Casey and her sunshine gown dressing the set, a fresh dawn for morning in America: 

“[T]oday is the culmination of the 2022 fall elections. But in reality, Americans have been voting for many years now. They’ve been voting with their feet, and the results of that behavior has been just as stark as our landslide victory today. States and cities governed by leftist politicians have seen crime skyrocket. They’ve seen their taxpayers abused, they’ve seen medical authoritarianism imposed, and they’ve seen American principles discarded. [Emphasis added.] The woke agenda has caused millions of Americans to leave these jurisdictions for greener pastures.”

DeSantis went on to describe the ongoing thrashing of the establishment woke agenda in Florida, and there was an echo of the Gipper in that, too. But where Reagan was gently chiding — “The trouble with our Liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.” — DeSantis waxed pugilistic: “We will never, ever surrender to the woke mob.”

He returned then, swiftly, to the message of welcome that resonated across the country during the hectic, confusing, and routinely oppressive months of the Great American Lockdown: Florida embraces liberty.

“People have come here because our policies work. Leadership matters. We refuse to use polls and put our finger in the wind. Leaders don’t follow. They lead. We set out a vision, we executed on that vision and we produced historic results. And the people of this state have responded in record fashion. Now, while our country flounders due to failed leadership in Washington, Florida is on the right track.”

Voters in the formerly purple state, the biggest swingable prize on any election night map, concur. In a state that can’t even agree about where the Cuban sandwich originated (for the record: Tampa), DeSantis rode an eye-popping 55% job-approval rating when polls opened for early voting in October.

And when the counting was complete (which was long before the 11 p.m. news, even with the late closings in the Panhandle — just saying), DeSantis had won everywhere, including in some of Florida’s most resilient Democratic strongholds.

DeSantis pounded the other guy, whose name we omit in respect for victim’s privacy rights, by 19.4 points and a record 1.5 million — that’s one-point-five-million, if you’re keeping score at home — votes.

It was the sort of sweeping victory only crossover voting can achieve. Turn counties such as Palm Beach and Dade from indigo to pink, it gives a politician ideas.

Let others nip at his heels with their petty criticisms and tortured nicknames, reeking of envy and desperation. Snatch at that low-charisma straw all you want. Nobody’s running for America’s Next Gameshow Host here, and this guy followed up keeping his state’s economy alive during COVID-19 and expanding school choice by getting a washed-out bridge rebuilt in two days and change.

This guy — Ron DeSantis — is the man with the mandate, and a vision to match.

“I believe the survival of the American experiment requires a revival of true American principles. [Emphasis added.] Florida has proved that it can be done. We offer a ray of hope that better days still lie ahead.”

In form, fashion, and execution, that’s vintage Ronald Reagan. But what’s happening in Florida is more than any mere ray of hope. In Ron DeSantis’ Sunshine State, we’re all wearing shades.

More than that, we’re willing to share, if it means a new morning in America.