MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

DeSantis reelected Governor of Florida, as vote counting still ongoing

The House of Representatives might change hands after vote counting is done

Ron DeSantis, the Republican emerging figure who might challenge former President Donald Trump's bid to return to the White House in 2024, has been reelected as Governor of the State of Florida, it was reported late Tuesday as vote counting continued nationwide after the mid-term elections.

DeSantis, 44, beat former Governor Charlie Crist, who used to run the State as a Republican but had now switched parties.

Governor DeSantis gained notoriety for his stance against mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and for joining a move launched by the Republican governors of Texas and Arizona to send immigrants to cities governed by Democrats in the north and east of the country, including Martha's Vineyard, an uptown class island in the northeastern United States.

DeSantis also signed into law a bill banning the teaching of subjects related to sexual orientation or gender identity in elementary schools.

Republicans were also reported to have snatched 3 House seats from the Democrats on Capitol Hill, according to media projections. The House of Representatives, currently in Democratic hands, could fall to the Republican side if conservatives manage to repeat Florida's gains in other states, which most polls see highly likely.

“My commitment to the Senate with the Republican Party is to put common sense first and work for our children to inherit the greatest country in the world,” said Republican Senator Marco Rubio after his Florida reelection.

To take control of the Lower House, Republicans need a net gain of five seats, that is, two more to those won in Florida, assuming none of their current Congressmen loses to Democratic opponents in their respective constituencies.

By late Tuesday, no major changes had been reported regarding the Senate. All seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senators as well as several governorships were at stake.

Elsewhere in the United States, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer won in New York and President Joseph Biden sent his congratulations to Maura Healey (Massachusetts), Dan McKee (Rhode Island), and Jared Polis (Colorado) for their governorship victories.

Meanwhile, in Arkansas, Donald Trump's former spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders is to become the new Governor.