The 2022 midterm elections did not turn into the large “red wave” that many conservatives had expected. However, there was one “red tsunami” that made landfall in the state of Florida.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis won a landslide victory over his Democrat opponent Charlie Crist. As of publishing time, Gov. DeSantis’ earned 59.38% of the vote compared to Crist’s 39.96%, and that’s with 99% of the results reported in.

The governor won the support of 4,610,998 Floridians compared to Crist’s 3,103,222 – a margin of around 1.5 million voters in what is traditionally viewed as a perennial swing state.

Gov. DeSantis’ election night triumph proved to be the largest gubernatorial victory for any Republican in the state of Florida since 1868. That year, Republican Harrison Reed beat Democrat George W. Scott 59% to 32%; a total of just 24,403 people voted in the entire state.

So, in a night when the “red wave” barely made a ripple, how did Florida turn redder than Texas?

I posit this: Florida voters were convinced and inspired by Gov. DeSantis’ and the Florida legislature’s bold, unwavering leadership – and rewarded them with their votes.

In the past four years, Gov. DeSantis and the Florida state legislature have given a Masterclass in how to govern on strong family principles.

Florida enacted pro-life legislation to protect preborn babies from abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation, which Gov. DeSantis called “the most significant protections for life that have been enacted in [Florida] in a generation.”

Gov. DeSantis suspended a state attorney for refusing to enforce Florida laws prohibiting abortion and “sex change” surgeries on minors.

The governor also ordered his staff to look into proposing legislation that would order the state’s child protective services agency to investigate parents who take their children to drag shows.

Gov. DeSantis signed into law the “Parental Rights in Education” bill which reinforced the fundamental right of parents to direct the care, education and upbringing of their children.

Florida revoked The Walt Disney Company’s special privileges and autonomous governmental status after the company spoke out and lobbied against Florida’s newly-enacted wholly commonsense Parental Rights in Education law.

Gov. DeSantis signed a bill into law providing $44 million to promote adoption and foster care, and a separate bill that provided $70 million to support fatherhood.

Gov. DeSantis signed a bill into law prohibiting biological males from competing in girls sports.

Florida enacted the “No Patient Left Alone Act” to ensure that family members are able to visit their loved ones who are in hospitals, long-term care facilities and hospices.

Florida enacted an election integrity bill which strengthened ID requirements for mail-in ballots, increased the penalty for ballot harvesting and banned “Zuckerbucks” in the state. The state then enacted a second election integrity bill.

The state also enacted a bill that requires students to learn about the “evils of communism” in their high school civics classes.

The governor also signed a bill to crack down on “Big Tech” companies that censor users or politicians for their points of view.

Gov. DeSantis issued an executive order banning “vaccine passports” in the state.

He also boosted funding for state law enforcement officers, further protecting families from rising crime.

Lastly (at least for this list of accomplishments), the governor also announced that Florida’s school curriculum would expressly exclude the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the state’s schools. “Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money,” the governor said.

It’s hard to think of another state that has enacted so many conservative and pro-family measures in just four years. And his administration never blinked in the face of overwhelming criticism from elitist national voices.

The lesson for elected leaders across the country is this: the American people support commonsense, pro-family, pro-life, pro-biological reality laws, even if our elite media institutions don’t. The American people will enthusiastically reward politicians for standing up for them, their family and their children, even if the media tell you otherwise.

On August 19, 1976, former President Ronald Reagan spoke to the Republican National Convention and argued for a “platform that is a banner of bold, unmistakable colors with no pale pastel shades.”

Our elected officials in state and federal offices should take note of Florida’s accomplishments and start painting their political landscape with bold colors.

Related articles and resources:

Governor Ron DeSantis Talks ‘Being a Positive Force for the Family’ on the Focus Broadcast

Photo from Getty Images.