“Close to mass extinction” – Florida’s governor speaks of the worst defeat in decades

After the Republicans' devastating defeat in the US general election, Florida's outgoing governor Ron DeSantis spoke of consequences that almost threatened the very existence of his party. The defeat was like a political meteorite strike. “This was a rejection of the Republicans in Washington,” he said at an appearance in Florida. The Democrats were merely the beneficiaries. The Republicans lost their majority in both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's elections.

“Republicans in many parts of the country have probably not been this close to a mass political extinction as they are now in 100 years,” DeSantis said. After his party's losses, he defended the controversial redistricting of congressional districts. This prevented further seat losses, he told Fox News. At the same time, he described the vote as “the worst midterm election for our party since Watergate and perhaps since Franklin D. Roosevelt.”

The Republican is thus distancing himself from US President Donald Trump, who blamed the Republican candidates, among others, for the election defeat. His own popularity could not be transferred to this. However, he admitted that the Iran war and the resulting rise in fuel prices contributed to the losses. He still sticks to his decision to go to war.

The governor warned that the defeat could weaken the party for years to come. Even in the next presidential election in 2028, when the House will also be re-elected, he does not expect the Republicans to be able to regain the majority in the Senate. He also thinks this is unlikely in the House of Representatives. It could take many years until the party regains control of both the White House and both chambers of Parliament.

The Republican also expects significantly more conflicts in Washington from now on. “You’re going to see a lot more conflict between Congress and the administration,” DeSantis said. The chances of a Democratic-controlled Congress confirming Trump's nominees to the Supreme Court or ministries would be "zero."

Former Trump rival with his own ambitions?

The 48-year-old's open criticism is also notable given the political past of the two Republicans. DeSantis ran against Trump in the race for his party's presidential nomination in 2024, but withdrew his application after a clear defeat in the first primary in Iowa and then supported Trump.

DeSantis has not yet ruled out running again in the 2028 presidential election. When asked about this in March, he simply replied: “We’ll see.” His term as governor of Florida ends in January.

In his analysis of the general election, DeSantis also pointed to the success of the Republicans in his own state. While the party suffered heavy losses nationwide, it managed to maintain its position in Florida. As justification, he referred to his government's political record and the trust of voters, but also to the - controversial - redesign of the constituencies. The changed constituency boundaries helped his party in Florida to largely retain its seats in the US House of Representatives, DeSantis told Fox News.

Without the new regulation, he believes the Republicans would have lost two seats. Four constituencies had been redesigned to give Republicans an advantage. Three of them still went to Democratic candidates in the election.