DeSantis Hits Miami For 'Thank You' Tour, Discusses Brenda Snipes And Scott Israel
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Florida Governor-elect Ron DeSantis thanked supporters in Miami during his Thank You Tour.
He talked, greeted, and took pictures with voters at Jose Marti gym which is on the edge of Little Havana and Brickell.
He said a special thank you to the Hispanic voters for helping put him over the edge of his opponent, Andrew Gillum.
DeSantis said his foreign policy work in Congress may be the reason that attracted some groups of voters.
"I stood up against the Castro brothers, against Maduro, against Ortega, and Nicaragua," DeSantis said.
Following Election Day in Florida, DeSantis was frustrated.
He watched his numbers inch closer to his opponent, triggering a machine recount.
He blames some of that on Dr. Brenda Snipes, who was suspended as Supervisor of Elections by Governor Rick Scott over her handling of the election.
The Broward Elections Office was one of the last to finish counting votes.
"I was not going to allow Brenda Snipes to preside over another election. The bottom line is, there were so many problems and it was year after year," DeSantis said.
Also in Broward, DeSantis is waiting on a report from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission.
He is waiting for the report to see if he should take any action against Broward Sheriff Scott Israel over his handling of events before, during, and after the mass shooting that left 17 people dead.
"When it comes to Cruz, there were multiple times where he should've been arrested for committing crimes and he wasn't, and that's a big problem. So, we need to figure out why and I'm eagerly waiting this report," DeSantis said.
The incoming governor also mentioned his support for a border wall. He believes it'll help the state battle an opioid problem.
"It's a heck of a lot easier to deal with that if the fentanyl isn't always coming across the southern border. That's what's happening," DeSantis said.
Moments later, the staff for the incoming governor took him away to greet more supporters before we could ask and get an answer about felons voting rights.
The governor-elect recently announced he wants state lawmakers to draft an implanting bill before Amendment 4 can go into effect.
More than 5 million voters were in favor of felons, excluding people convicted of murders and sex crimes, to have automatic restoration after their sentence.
It was scheduled to take effect January 8th.
