Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is facing criticism from former President Donald Trump and others after losing a pivotal race in his home state, as Jacksonville, Florida, fell into the hands of a Democrat mayor Tuesday.

“Congratulations to a ‘star’ in Kentucky, Danial Cameron, who easily won the Republican Nomination for Governor. He had my Complete and Total Endorsement. The DeSanctimonious backed candidate came in a DISTANT third,” Trump said the morning after Election Day.

“Ron’s magic is GONE! He also lost, shockingly, in Jacksonville last night (Mayor),” he added:

Indeed, in Jacksonville, neither Republican Daniel Davis nor Democrat Donna Deegan was able to pass the 50 percent threshold in the last election, leading to Tuesday’s runoff race. However, Deegan emerged victorious, flipping the position to Democrat leadership, with four points separating the two.

According to the results, Deegan received 52 percent of the vote with 113,157 votes, followed by Davis with 48 percent of the vote, or 104,130 voters supporting him. That follows a close race, where Republican Davis was somewhat viewed as the underdog in the battle against Democrat Deegan.
A FrederickPolls report found Deegan leading Davis with 54 percent support to the Republican’s 46 percent support, but a later University of North Florida (UNF) Public Opinion Research Lab survey found just one point separating the two mayoral hopefuls.

Throughout the campaigns, crime emerged as a primary issue, as David and Republicans attempted to showcase Deegan’s soft on crime positions.

“‘Defund Donna’ is soft on crime, wants higher taxes and is wholly unprepared to handle the city’s $1.5 billion budget. Jacksonville needs a real Mayor – not a media activist like Deegan who pretends to be one on TV,” the Republican Party of Duval County said in March.

A Republican ad also showcased Deegan’s support for the Black Lives Matter movement, in which she stated that she attended “every one of those Black Lives Matter protests.” Deegan, a Democrat, dismissed the ad as “divisive” and “racially insensitive.”

Meanwhile, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters made it clear he endorsed Davis.

“My decision to support a law and order candidate like Daniel Davis stems from his commitment to giving officers the resources they need to fight crime, not defunding them,” he said.

The local race was closely watched. Even Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) traveled to the area over the weekend to promote the Republican candidates.

Noticeably absent, however, was DeSantis, who spent his time traveling across the country, even heading to Iowa, where he ironically decried the GOP “culture of losing.” Then, a single day before Election Day, DeSantis rolled out an endorsement for Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Kelly Craft, who lost to Trump-backed Daniel Cameron by over 30 points.

Many others, in addition to Trump, criticized DeSantis for the pivotal loss.

“Because of Ron DeSantis’ negligence and recklessness in how he runs the state of Florida, Republicans have lost the mayoral race in Jacksonville for the first time in a decade. Maybe it’s time for DeSantis to end his failing shadow campaign and focus on delivering for Floridians…” Trump backer and X Strategies LLC CEO Alex Bruesewitz observed, as others expressed similar sentiments.

Florida GOP chairman Christian Ziegler noted that Jacksonville Republicans had a “good” turnout effort but “not enough to overcome Voter Reg deficit + I loss + R flips post-bloody primary.”