2022 FL Governor's race: on Government Reform


Annette Taddeo: Republican legislature has suppressed voters' rights

Taddeo, a state senator from Miami-Dade County, said the problem is grave. "Florida has a red tide problem, and not just in our water," Taddeo said. "But also in Tallahassee. The Tallahassee red tide kills democracy, suppresses voters' rights, and the laws they passed just this session leaves a really bad smell as well."
Source: Bozeman Daily Chronicle on 2022 Florida Gubernatorial race Mar 13, 2022

Brian Moore: Make voter registration easier

Q: Do you support making voter registration easier?

A: I strongly support.˙ We ˙should foster same day registration on election day, lower the age to vote, dedicate a week to have polls open, declare a national day or two to encourage voting amongst all citizens.˙ We should remove the private sector from all campaigns, and the public sector should administer a more equitable and fairer system for candidate access, public funding, fair and open debates, and a shorter time for campaigning itself.

Source: OnTheIssues.org interview on 2022 Florida Gubernatorial race Apr 14, 2022

Charlie Crist: Criticized restrictive elections bill & anti-riot bill

He criticized actions from the most recent legislative session in Florida, referencing the controversial elections bill passed restricting access to voting and an anti-riot bill critics say will have a chilling effect on peaceful protests. Crist said he would "make it easier to vote" in Florida, expand Medicaid, raise the minimum wage to $15 a hour and "treat climate change as the existential threat that it is."
Source: CNN Politics on 2022 Florida Gubernatorial race May 4, 2021

Nikki Fried: Been transparent on finances including past filing mistakes

Republicans delivered a political one-two punch to Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, now a candidate for governor, after she amended her financial disclosures to account for hundreds of thousands of dollars in past income. The head of Florida's Republican Party asked that they "use all available resources and powers to immediately review and audit Igniting Florida"--Fried's former solo-practice lobbying firm--"to substantiate the compensation" she reported in her public disclosures.

In a statement, Fried called the complaint a "witch hunt" and said "Republican leaders are terrified of me because they know I will beat Ron DeSantis."

"I've disclosed and have been transparent about all of my finances, including past mistakes when filing forms before announcing for office," she added. "Humility and transparency just aren't in (Republicans') vocabulary."

Source: Tallahassee Democrat on 2022 Florida Gubernatorial race Jun 6, 2021

Nikki Fried: Would reverse restrictions on voting rights

Nikki Fried, Florida's Jewish agricultural commissioner who has said part of her mission is to keep Democrats pro-Israel, announced a run for governor. She said in a video posted on Twitter that she would reverse DeSantis' restrictions on voting rights, environmental protections, farmer protections and the minimum wage, adding that she would seek to expand the amount of Floridians with access to healthcare.
Source: The Jewish Exponent on 2022 Florida Gubernatorial race Jun 2, 2021

Nikki Fried: Republicans engage in voter suppression

[On voting rights]: "Are Republicans afraid of taking their message to the people?" asked Fried. "Because the only way they've been able to win elections is through lies, misinformation, fraud, and now voter suppression. But I can tell you the people of the state of Florida will not be suppressed, their voices will not be shut down. They will rise up. They will see Ron DeSantis for who he is, & that is an authoritarian dictator who is borderline fascism that we are seeing here in the state of Florida."
Source: CBS12 on 2022 Florida Gubernatorial race Jun 17, 2021

Ron DeSantis: State legislatures decide presidential electors

Appearing on Fox News two days after the 2020 election, DeSantis hinted at the notion that Republican legislators in key swing states could potentially override the presidential choices of state voters. DeSantis was one of the first prominent Republicans to publicly float this idea. DeSantis said, "Especially if you're in those states that have Republican legislatures: call your state representatives and your state senators. Call Under Article II of the Constitution, presidential electors are done by the legislatures, and the framework they create. And if there's departure from that, if they're not following law, if they're ignoring the law, then they can provide remedies as well. So I would exhaust every option to make sure we have a fair count."

DeSantis continued into early December 2020 to say he was encouraging Trump to "fight on." In mid-December 2020, after the Electoral College ratified Biden's victory, he said: "The College voted. What's going to happen is going to happen."

Source: CNN on 2020 Election Denial in 2022 Florida Governor race Sep 9, 2022

  • The above quotations are from 2022 Florida Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Government Reform.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Ron DeSantis on Government Reform.
Candidates and political leaders on Government Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R)
Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R)
Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Feb 14, 2023