WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsNation) — Florida governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis’ wife, Casey, appeared in Iowa on Thursday to launch the grassroots group “Mamas for DeSantis,” hoping to boost his presidential hopes with a charismatic flare critics say the candidate himself lacks.
Casey DeSantis has long been considered her husband’s most trusted adviser and some voters claim she makes him more “relatable.” However, the couple has also received criticism on the way they work together, with Politico reporting some have accused her of being suspicious, controlling and too involved in her spouse’s campaign.
Parental rights have been a central focus of the DeSantis campaign, which has touted a series of measures the governor has pushed in Florida:
- Boosting school curriculum transparency
- Expanding the state’s ability to restrict books
- Banning teachers from talking about sexual orientation and gender identity
“Enough is enough,” Casey DeSantis said in an official “Mamas for DeSantis” video. “When you come after our kids, we fight back. Because there’s nothing we won’t do to protect our children.”
Casey DeSantis, a former local TV reporter and a mother of three young children, is pledging to “fight on behalf of the mamas across the country.”
“It was COVID that was really what led to a lot of this parental empowerment revolution,” Casey DeSantis said at her first solo campaign appearance alongside Iowa’s Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. “For the first time, parents were peering into the classroom and they did not like what was being taught.”
“It’s one thing when your policies come after us, as mamas. It’s another thing when your policies come after our children,” she continued. “That’s when the claws come out.”
Florida’s First Lady started her “Mamas for DeSantis” initiative in 2022 to boost her husband’s gubernatorial reelection. The effort, aimed to push for a student-first education agenda, was able to mobilize 1.1 million mothers. The DeSantis 2024 campaign described it as the “largest movement of parents in Florida history and helped deliver Governor DeSantis a historic, 20-point victory on November 8, 2022.”
The Florida governor spent most of last year as the presumed most formidable challenge to former President Donald Trump. Yet, in the six weeks since DeSantis officially entered the 2024 presidential race, he has trailed about 30 points in average to Trump in the GOP primary contests.
Ron DeSantis has hauled $20 million in fundraising in the first six weeks since entering the race, surpassing the $9.5 million Trump raised in the 45 days after launching his third presidential campaign.
NewsNation’s Tulsi Kamath contributed to this story.