Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), who is challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in Florida’s gubernatorial race, appears to be fundraising on the assertion that DeSantis “utterly failed to respond” to Hurricane Ian.
“Folks, DeSantis utterly failed to respond to the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian,” a Crist fundraising email, shared by the DeSantis War Room, reads.
“Hurricane Ian was a devastating storm that required REAL leadership — something that DeSantis is incapable of,” the email continues, asking to find 362 Americans “willing to agree with Charlie” and ultimately force DeSantis to “reckon” with his supposed failures:
It remains unclear what failures, exactly, the Crist campaign is referring to. Prior to the storm’s landfall, for example, DeSantis announced tens of thousands of linemen ready to respond to the storm, and within a matter of days, 99 percent of Floridians had power “other than some of the LCEC [Lee County Electric Cooperative] pockets,” DeSantis explained earlier this month:
Within a matter of days, DeSantis announced the construction of a temporary bridge connecting Pine Island to the mainland, providing access for first responders, linemen, and residents. This occurred in three days:
Further, the DeSantis administration announced it was flying in engineers to repair the Sanibel Causeway, which the Category 4 storm damaged in multiple areas. Last week, DeSantis announced it was open to emergency vehicles, and on Wednesday, the bridge opened to residents.
“Three weeks ago, Hurricane Ian destroyed the Sanibel Causeway in three places, leaving the island of Sanibel isolated. Today, we have re-opened the causeway for our residents after completing temporary repairs more than a week ahead of schedule. Way to go!” the governor said:
It remains unclear which of these three achievements, specifically, the Crist campaign takes issue with. Meanwhile, Crist made it clear during a recent appearance on MSNBC that any hurricane response must include addressing climate change.
Recent surveys do not indicate any sort of negative ramification for DeSantis in the aftermath of Ian, despite the establishment media salivating over the possibility. A FAU BEPI Florida poll, for example, found 63 percent overall approving of DeSantis’s hurricane response, and according to that survey, 41 percent of Democrats share that sentiment.
Saturday’s RealClearPolitics average showed DeSantis leading Crist by an average of 9.2 percent. The two will face off in their first and only debate Monday, October 24.