Blue State Refugees Explain Why They Fled to DeSantis's Florida: 'I’m a New Yorker, and Now I Live' Here
Blue state “refugees” have been fleeing to Florida over the past year and are praising Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for going against the grain and keeping the Sunshine State free.
Team DeSantis spoke to spring breakers who fled to the Sunshine State, asking what they thought of the Florida governor.
“I’m a New Yorker, and now I live in Florida,” one woman told Team DeSantis. Team DeSantis asked another woman, who lives in Pennsylvania under Democrat Gov. Tom “Commie Tommy” Wolf, “How do you like living in Pennsylvania?”
“I hate it. We have the worst governor ever,” she responded. “I think Ron DeSantis should be the governor of Pennsylvania. Florida, you’re so lucky!”
Others praised the governor for keeping Florida a free state, donning his campaign’s spring break-themed “Vote Free. Be Free” merchandise.
WATCH:
[embedded content]Indeed, tens of thousands of people have fled blue states over the past year. In 2021, Florida saw the highest level of domestic visitation in the state’s history — nearly 118 million visitors — as individuals fled heavy-handed restrictions and mandates.
As Breitbart News detailed:
According to the governor’s office, tourism in the state in both Q3 and Q4 last year exceeded the same quarter in 2019, prior to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. In Q4 alone, Florida saw 30.9 million visitors – seven percent higher than 2019’s levels. As a result of this historic influx of visitors, hotel revenues reached their highest record ever in 2021, garnering $17.3 billion.
All of these figures confirm what the governor has been saying for months: People are flocking to Florida because it is a free state. Even pro-restriction Democrats have been spotted in the Sunshine State in recent months, escaping extended lockdowns as well as mask and vaccine restrictions throughout the pandemic, despite offering constant criticism of the state. Past Sunshine State vacationers include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D), Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), and CNN’s Don Lemon.
The “Vote Free. Be Free” theme is fitting, as DeSantis has described the Sunshine State as “America’s liberty outpost.”
“Florida has become the escape hatch for those chafing under authoritarian, arbitrary and seemingly never-ending mandates and restrictions,” he emphasized during January’s State of the State address.
He also issued a stark warning ahead of the midterms, noting that power-hungry leftists “will impose mandates if they feel the need to do that” after the elections.
“They will impose restrictions,” DeSantis said during a recent press conference. “And so that will happen if those types of people are allowed to be put in power.”
“The only way to make sure it doesn’t happen is to have nice, big, red wave. So, we’ll see,” he added.
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