Ron DeSantis isn't from Florida so much as he's from Fox. Politico is reporting that DeSantis's own campaign considers the 121 (!) times their candidate has appeared on Fox to be worth $3.9 million in free advertising. And Florida Republicans consider themselves Trump Foxicans first, Republicans second:
It’s impossible to overstate the value of a steady stream of Fox appearances among Florida Republicans: Seventy percent of likely Florida GOP voters regularly watch Fox News and Fox Business channels, according to the DeSantis campaign’s polling.
But DeSantis’ campaign research made one thing clear: a Fox first campaign was superior to a Florida first effort. For Republicans, all politics isn’t local — it’s on Fox News... One revelation from the data: Fifty-two percent of GOP primary voters saw themselves as supporters of the president first, while only 37 percent saw themselves as Republicans first.
And then there's the Fox News Audience of One:
“Trump is going all out for DeSantis because he gets 100 percent of his news from Fox, and he knows DeSantis has gone to bat for him, and he knows Florida is important,” said Roger Stone, a longtime on-again and off-again Trump adviser from Florida who had supported Putnam.
And then there's this:
