Gov. Ron DeSantis[1] is among the most partisan Republicans ever to lead the state.
Yet even he acknowledges that party identification can handicap candidates, such as was the case with Andrew Bain’s[2] ill-fated run last year to be State Attorney in the 9th Judicial Circuit[3].
Bain, a former and current judge, was appointed by DeSantis to replace Monique Worrell[4], a Democrat DeSantis removed from office amid disagreements about prosecutorial philosophy.
During a speech Saturday to the Police Benevolent Association[5], the Governor said he tried and failed to convince Bain to run as a Democrat.
“I told him when he was a judge and I appointed him,” DeSantis recalled. “I said, ‘You need to be a Democrat.’ He’s like, ‘I ain’t a Democrat.’”
DeSantis doubled down, saying Orange County is a “blue area” and so it’s important to “win the Democrat primary” as winning as a Republican was “going to be harder.”
“I respected it. He’s just not a Dem. So he did that. And so it was a presidential year, and she was able to do it, and I think largely on the party label, right? State attorney races are down ballot, and in a presidential year, I think it’s more about the partisanship than necessarily who does the job,” DeSantis asserted.
Worrell defeated Bain 57.5% to 42.5%. However, he since has been appointed as an Orange County Judge[6].
Predictably, Worrell again is causing problems for Republican leadership in Tallahassee.
Her recent decision not to prosecute a man accused of masturbating[7] in a public park led to Attorney General James Uthmeier saying on Friday she’s guilty of “non-prosecution policies that are putting our families and our kids in great danger” regarding the “most gruesome and horrific child predator cases.”
Uthmeier, DeSantis’ former Chief of Staff who was appointed to succeed Ashley Moody after her own Senate appointment, stopped short of recommending Worrell’s removal from office, but suggested cases could be assigned to other circuits.
DeSantis likewise wouldn’t commit to removing Worrell during his remarks Saturday.
“I have authority under the Florida Constitution, to suspend state attorneys and other officials from office. But there’s criteria that has to be met. It can’t just be that I don’t like them or I disagree with them,” the Governor explained.
But he didn’t entirely close the door either.
“The criteria are misfeasance, malfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence,” he said. “(The) poor state attorneys, you probably could fit that bill. But I got to have the basis to do it, but I think I’ve shown I’m willing to do it.”
“I have the authority. I think the Florida Senate … they’re going to be very receptive to holding accountable a derelict state attorney, because I think they understand, too, that this is not fun and games. I mean, people’s lives are at stake,” he added.
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References
- ^ Ron DeSantis (flgov.com)
- ^ Andrew Bain’s (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ 9th Judicial Circuit (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ Monique Worrell (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ Police Benevolent Association (x.com)
- ^ Orange County Judge (www.floridabar.org)
- ^ accused of masturbating (floridapolitics.com)