The governor of Florida warns opponents that "a new sheriff is in town."

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis credited his policies for saving the state from "financial and moral collapse" in an interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, hinting that those same policies would work just as well to fix the entire United States. DeSantis argued that protecting Floridians meant ensuring that the left is not able to impose their agenda on them through corporate America, bureaucracy, and universities. He also pointed to his accomplishment of reining in entertainment behemoth Disney, which had operated Walt Disney World as a self-governing entity for six decades until legislation the governor signed last month put the 44-square-mile theme park under state governance once more. In his newly-published book, "The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival," DeSantis argues he shaped the "Florida miracle" by being "willing to lead" rather than relying on polling and public opinion. His approach has brought him a margin of victory increased from 30,000 in the 2018 election to 1.5 million last year - the largest for any Republican governor.

Florida's population has surged 1.9% between 2021 and 2022, the first time since 1957 that the state outstripped all others in population increase. DeSantis has not officially announced his 2024 run for the presidential nomination, but his "book tour" made sure to stop in Iowa, home to the first presidential primary of the election season. A poll conducted last month found DeSantis had fallen behind former president Donald Trump in a hypothetical two-man race for the Republican nomination, with Trump leading his one-time protege by eight points.