Second GOP Presidential Debate Was Sloppy, At Times Chaotic, Ultimately Forgettable, Critics Say

Wednesday evening’s chaotic GOP presidential primary debate at times felt more like an episode of “Jersey Shore” than a showcase of the best and brightest minds in conservative politics.

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Second GOP Presidential Debate Turns Into a Rhetorical Brawl as Candidates Jockey for Position in Trump-Dominated Race

In a second GOP presidential debate that often seemed more like a disorderly reality TV show, the Babylon Bee’s satirical news headline may have best captured the mood of viewers: ‘Mute Button’ Wins GOP Debate.

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GOP Presidential Candidates Prepare for Critical Second Debate Without Trump

If Wednesday’s second GOP presidential primary debate proves to be anything like the first, we’re in for a night of political punches and maybe a rhetorical gang fight or two as the candidates look to score points in another Trump-less bout.

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Poll Showing Biden Leading Trump by 6 Points – if Former President Is Convicted – Has DeSantis Backers Written All Over It

A recent poll showing President Joe Biden ahead of Donald Trump in a 2024 rematch if the former president is convicted of the indictments he’s facing was conducted by the pollster working with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ super PAC.

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Florida House Examines Implementation of ‘Responsible Fatherhood’ Law

A Florida House subcommittee met this week to discuss implementing some of the elements of a bill that passed during the 2022 session designed to promote responsible fatherhood.

House Bill 7065 was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April of 2022 and was designed to “aid in creating and sustaining safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for children and families that allow children to grow up to their full potential,” and also focuses on responsible fatherhood.

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DeSantis’ Energy Plan: Midland over Moscow

On Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his energy plan. It includes reversing all Biden administration policies to get gasoline prices at the pump back to $2 a gallon in 2025. 

Gas prices and all other household goods reliant on petroleum have soared to over 40-year highs since President Biden implemented new energy policies in 2021. They include canceling the Keystone Pipeline on his first day in office, halting offshore and onshore lease sales, advancing EPA and other regulatory restrictions solely on U.S. oil and natural gas companies, halting investments in the industry by imposing environmental, social governance policies to restrict lending to U.S. oil and natural gas companies, among other policies. 

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Newly Approved Florida Rules Could Cut Price of Prescription Drugs

New rules approved by officials in Florida this week are designed to increase accountability from pharmaceutical companies when it comes to drug pricing.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday that he and the Florida cabinet approved rules that will allow the implementation of provisions within Senate Bill 1550, the Prescription Drug Act.

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Kinder, Gentler Iowa Cattle Call of GOP Presidential Hopefuls Sees Ramaswamy, DeSantis, Haley Generate Most Buzz

The latest cattle call of GOP presidential contestants — sans former President Donald Trump — mainly maintained Iowa nice, a departure from last month’s first fiery primary debate and a similar Christian conservative event in July hosted by conservative talk show host lightning rod Tucker Carlson.

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Florida’s Nunez Says DeSantis Administration Delivers on Conservation Promises

Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez extolled the conservation efforts of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration at an award ceremony Friday for the Florida Python Challenge.

Nunez said that she is proud to be part of keeping Florida’s natural environment pristine.

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Quinnipiac Poll: Trump Holds 50-Point Lead over GOP Field

The latest poll for the 2024 presidential election shows former President Donald Trump with one of his most commanding leads yet over the rest of the GOP primary field, and a statistical tie with Joe Biden for the general election.

As CNBC reports, the poll from Quinnipiac University reveals that 62% of Republican primary voters support Trump. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) is in a distant second place with just 12%, the only other candidate to score double digits. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (R-Ohio) is in third with 6%, while former Vice President Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) are tied with 5% each. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has just 3% support, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R-N.J.) rounds out the primary field with 2%.

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Florida First State to Officially Recommend Against COVID-19 Boosters

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said Wednesday that the Sunshine State will be the first state to officially recommend against COVID-19 boosters for those under age 65.

The state, in its guidance, discourages use of the booster for those under age 65 because the new U.S. Food and Drug Administration boosters lack a human clinical trial and evidence of their efficiency or benefits.

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Campaigning Against Kamala: With Biden’s Future a Question Mark, Republican Candidates Raise Red Flags About His No. 2

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis\’ campaign blasted out a warning email on Friday, reminding Iowa voters what so many across the country fear: Vice President Kamala Harris could one day be in charge.

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Florida School Board Rejects ‘LGBTQ History Month’ Proposal Again

Miami Dade County school board members rejected a proposal Thursday that would have recognized October as “LGBTQ history month,” according to Politico.

Miami-Dade County school board members acknowledged LGBTQ History Month in 2021 but did not do so in 2022 after the school board was realigned ideologically with members  endorsed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to Politico. School board members voted against the measure 5-3 following hours of public comment and debate on the issue.

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Ramaswamy Blasts DeSantis ‘Monster PAC’ Following Report of Fake News Dirty Politics

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is blasting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and “Monster PAC” following a report exposing the political action committee\’s campaign in “spreading dirt” and “misstatements” about the poll-rising Ramaswamy.

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DeSantis’ Never Back Down PAC Suspends Door-Knocking in Four States to Focus on Early Primary States

The pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC is reportedly suspending its voter canvassing in four states to focus resources in early-voting states.

The PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential campaign is pausing its door-knocking activities in Nevada, California, Texas and North Carolina, according to The Epoch Times on Saturday.

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Trump Expands Primary Lead as Former President Becomes Top Choice for Nearly 60 Percent of GOP Voters: Poll

Former President Donald Trump is expanding his lead in Republican presidential primary polls as nearly 60 percent of GOP voters say they would vote for the former president even after his four criminal indictments, according to a new poll.

Trump is now at least 46 points ahead of all other GOP primary candidates, according to a Wall Street Journal poll released Saturday. While 59 percent of GOP voters say they would support Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis comes in second with 13 percent. 

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DeSantis Turns Down Millions in Incentives from Biden’s Signature Climate Bill

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has effectively rejected nearly $350 million dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) designated for use in Florida, according to Politico.

The IRA, President Joe Biden’s signature climate spending bill, sets aside money for rebates for consumers to buy more efficient appliances that the Biden administration is pushing and to help low-income individuals buy solar panels for their homes, according to Politico. DeSantis and the Florida legislature have effectively refused $3 million set aside for cleaning up pollution, $5 million in federal funds to set up the appliance rebates program and $341 million to actually fund that program.

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GOP Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Rides Debate Momentum to Second Place in New Poll

Ohio biotech entrepreneur and GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has overtaken Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for second place in the Republican Party nomination chase, surging several points since last week’s debate, according to internal polling.

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GOP Presidential Candidates Attempt to Seize on Any Momentum They Garnered in First Debate

Every candidate declared victory after Wednesday night’s first Republican presidential debate — even some who didn’t take the stage.

But what’s next for these self-proclaimed winners on the road to the Republican Party nomination?

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Don Jr. Says Christie’s Expected Attacks on Trump at Debate Will Do Him Little Good in Republican Presidential Race

As expected, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie took some big swings at GOP presidential front-runner and former president Donald Trump Wednesday night at the first debate of the 2024 primary season.

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Florida’s Two School Choice Scholarship Programs Break Participation Record

The state of Florida says a record number of students are either participating or have applied to the state’s two school choice scholarship programs.

In a news release, Gov. Ron DeSantis stated that almost 430,000 scholarship applications had been received for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship and the Family Empowerment Scholarship programs.

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Despite Trump’s Absence, Plenty of Fireworks at First Republican Presidential Debate of the 2024 Season

For those who thought a Trump-less GOP presidential primary debate was doomed to be a snooze fest, the two-hour political bar brawl disabused them of that notion.

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Trump Up 39 Points in New Hampshire: Poll

Former President Donald Trump holds a commanding lead in the battle for a pivotal primary state that could help him stave off the multitude of Republicans seeking to claim the party nomination.

Trump took 49.7% support among New Hampshire likely GOP primary voters in the latest Trafalgar poll. Florida  Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed second place with 10.7% while tech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy came in a close third with 10.4%. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took 9.1%, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott took 7.8%, while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley took 3.1%.

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DeSantis’ Travel, Security Cost Florida Taxpayers $8 Million over Past Year amid Presidential Bid

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ travel and security costs have cost state taxpayers over $8 million to Florida taxpayers over the past year as he tours the United States for his campaign to win the 2024 Republican nomination for president.

Over the 2022-2023 fiscal year, which in Florida is from July 1 to June 30 of the following, DeSantis’ travel and security expenses cost $8,073,607, according to data from the state Department of Law Enforcement cited by The Miami Herald in an article Wednesday.

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Ramaswamy Tops DeSantis in Latest Scott Rasmussen Poll, Trump Expands Frontrunner Position

Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has overtaken Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in another national Republican primary poll.

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Commentary: Keeping Trump Off the Ballot in 2024 Will Hurt the GOP

Now there are four separate trials against former President Donald Trump, the latest in Fulton County, Ga., arising from Trump challenging the results of the 2020 election, coming atop trials in New York City over supposed federal campaign finance violations, Miami, Fla. over his receipt of classified documents while he was president and retention when he left office and Washington, D.C. again over his challenge of the 2020 election.

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Campaign Trail Roundup: GOP Presidential Candidates Make Pitches at Iowa State Fair, DeSantis Booed at Iowa Racetrack

What a wild weekend in Iowa.

The presidential candidates who turned out for the Iowa State Fair came close to outnumbering the selections of food on a stick at the Iowa State Fair.

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New College of Florida Trustees Move to Abolish Gender Studies Program

The New College of Florida (NCF) board of trustees voted Thursday to direct the administration of the institution to abolish its gender studies program, according to Chris Rufo, a member of the board.

In January, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed six new conservative members to the NCF board of trustees in an effort to overhaul the ideological education system. Since being appointed, the board has voted to eliminate the college’s diversity, equity and inclusion office (DEI) and ban the use of diversity statements.

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DeSantis Suspends Florida State Attorney for Abuse of Prosecutorial Discretion

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended a prosecutor on Wednesday for not doing enough to prosecute crimes in her district.

In an executive order issued Wednesday, DeSantis suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell of the 9th Judicial Circuit, which covers Orange and Osceola counties, and replaced her with Andrew Bain, who served as a judge in Orange County.

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DeSantis Launches Major Shakeup, Replaces Presidential Campaign Manager amid Low Polling

In a major shakeup weeks in the making, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign announced Tuesday it had replaced its campaign manager amid low polling in the 2024 GOP primary.

DeSantis’ gubernatorial chief of staff James Uthmeier replaced campaign manager Generra Peck, DeSantis’ team confirmed to The Hill.

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As Indictments Pile Up, Trump Running Even or Better with Biden in New Polls

Despite facing three criminal indictments, former President Donald Trump is crushing his GOP presidential nominee competitors and running neck and neck with President Joe Biden, according to the latest polls.

In battleground Arizona, a new Emerson College poll finds Trump leading Biden by 2 percentage points in a hypothetical rematch of the 2020 presidential election.

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Florida Board of Governors to Vote on Use of Classical Learning Test for College Admissions

The Florida Board of Governors is expected to vote at the end of August on whether to offer the Classical Learning Test (CLT) along with the SAT and ACT for public college admissions, a move that would make the Sunshine State the first in the nation to offer a test based specifically on the foundations of Western civilization and a “back to basics” education model.

A committee of the board of governors already met in June and approved the CLT as an option for the 12 schools in the State University System, the Tampa Bay Times reported at the time. After a two-week public comment period, the full board of governors will take its final vote August 30.

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DeSantis on NBC News: ‘Of Course’ Trump Lost The 2020 Election

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis admitted that “of course” former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden in an interview with NBC News that aired Monday.

The outlet’s Dasha Burns probed the Florida governor during the interview on whether he believes Trump’s argument that the 2020 election was stolen from him. While DeSantis conceded that he “doesn’t think it was the perfect election,” citing mail-in balloting, ballot harvesting and censorship from Big Tech companies, he said that “Joe Biden’s the president.”

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Governors Newsom and DeSantis Agree to Debate on Fox News’ Sean Hannity

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have agreed to participate in a debate hosted by Sean Hannity on Fox News, pitting two younger, Generation X governors seen as standard bearers of their respective parties against each other for 90 minutes. 

First discussed between Newsom and Hannity when Newsom was interviewed by Hannity in June, the proposal was made into an official request by Newsom’s office last week, according to Politico, with suggested dates for November 8 or 10.

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DeSantis-Appointed Board Governing Disney World Abolishes Racial Hiring Practices, Diversity Initiatives

The board appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to govern Walt Disney World Resort in Florida will abolish all in-house diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, was reconstituted by the Florida state legislature in February, which replaced the district’s existing board with DeSantis’ appointees. The board will abolish “all DEI programs” and DEI-based contractor requirements, according to a press release on its website.

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DeSantis Unveils ‘Declaration of Economic Independence’ Plan to Revamp Economy in New Hampshire

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled his economic plan to revamp the U.S. economy at a presidential campaign event in Rochester, New Hampshire, on Monday.

He launched his “Declaration of Economic Independence” platform at a manufacturing facility with local business owners and workers suffering from 40-year high inflation, higher costs and regulatory burdens resulting from what he says are Biden administration policies.

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Amid Flurry of Indictments, Trump Leads DeSantis by Whopping 37 Percent: Poll

Former President Donald Trump is leading his closest challenger, Ron DeSantis, in the 2024 Republican presidential primary by 37 points, even after indictments in New York and Florida, according to a new poll released on Monday.

Trump was indicted by Manhattan’s Democratic District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, and the Department of Justice’s Special Counsel Jack Smith in March and June, respectively, on state and federal charges. Despite the indictments, Trump is still supported by 54 percent of Republican voters, who say they will back him in the 2024 presidential primary, according to a new poll by Siena College for The New York Times.

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DeSantis Calls for US-Led Military Alliance in Pacific, ‘Economic Independence’ from China

Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor and 2024 presidential candidate, is calling for the United States to create a stronger military alliance in the Pacific to counter China’s rising aggression, as well as wage a strategic decoupling of the American economy from Beijing.

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Iowa Lincoln Dinner Turns Up the Heat on Republican Presidential Race, as Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy Dominate

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa nice converged with Hawkeye heat Friday evening, as the Republican Party of Iowa hosted the largest cattle call to date of the GOP presidential combatants on one of the hottest days of the year.

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DeSantis Vows to Rein in Fed, Ban Central Bank Digital Currency: ‘Cash Is King’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis laid out the broad strokes of his economic policy in an interview with Just the News, vowing to reinvigorate America’s manufacturing base, rein in the Federal Reserve and ban a central bank digital currency if elected president. 

“Cash is king,” he declared.

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GOP Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to Join Elon Musk and Investor David Sacks on X.com

Heading into Iowa for a big weekend after rising in the polls, Ohio businessman and GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy will join Elon Musk and investor David Sacks live Friday afternoon on x.com.

The conversation on the social network platform formerly known as Twitter is set for 4:30 p.m. Central Time, hours before Ramaswamy joins much of the rest of the packed field of Republican presidential candidates at the Republican Party of Iowa’s Lincoln Dinner fundraiser in Des Moines.

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Florida Gov. DeSantis Lays Off More than 33 Percent of Campaign Staff as He Falls in Polls

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is laying off more than one-third of his campaign staff as he falls in 2024 presidential primary polls. 

The cuts are across multiple departments and will amount to 38 positions, including the roughly 10 event planning staffers whose positions were axed earlier this month, according to Politico.

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Florida Teachers Unions Suffer Financial Blow Thanks to New Paycheck Laws

Several teachers unions are seeing a decrease in their revenue due to a Florida law that prohibits automatic paycheck deductions, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Florida teachers unions of both public schools and universities filed a revised lawsuit and injunction against the state’s dues-deduction ban that went into effect July 1, arguing that the law has caused the organizations to suffer major revenue loss, according to the Tampa Bay Times. In June, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker declined the unions’ May injunction, arguing that granting one would “offer no redress for plaintiffs’ injuries.”

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Florida’s DeSantis Asks State Investment Manager to Consider Legal Action Against Bud Light Parent

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking the state’s investment manager to consider legal action against Bud Light parent company AB InBev over recent controversial marketing tactics.

CNN obtained a letter Thursday that states DeSantis suggests that AB InBev “breached legal duties owed to its shareholders” when it decided to associate with “radical social ideologies.” 

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Early Debt Repayment Could Save Florida Taxpayers Nearly $34 Million in Interest

Florida taxpayers are set to save millions of dollars after Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that some of the Sunshine State’s debt had been paid down early.

A total of $400 million in state debt has been paid back through the Debt Reduction Program, designed to accelerate the payment of bonds before they mature and saving Florida taxpayers almost $34 million in interest.

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