Gov. Ron DeSantis has left the presidential campaign trail and returned to Florida in the wake of a racially motivated mass shooting in Jacksonville and an intensifying tropical storm barreling toward the state’s west coast.
Mr. DeSantis, who is running second in many Republican primary polls behind former President Donald Trump, expanded a state of emergency Monday to 46 counties in the path of Tropical Storm Idalia. The storm is expected to make landfall this week as a Category 3 hurricane.
“When you have a situation like this, you’ve got to put the interest of the people first,” Mr. DeSantis said at a press conference in Tallahassee. “There’s a time and a place to have political season, but then there is a time and a place to say that this is something that is life-threatening, this is something that could potentially cost somebody their life, it could cost them their livelihood, and we have a responsibility to come together as Americans and do what we can to mitigate any damage and protect people.”
Mr. DeSantis skipped a planned political event in South Carolina, one of three states where he has been campaigning with intensity this summer and where he hopes Republicans seeking an alternative to Mr. Trump will give him a strong showing this winter.
Florida first lady Casey DeSantis planned to appear on her husband’s behalf Monday at South Carolina’s 12th annual Faith & Freedom BBQ, billed as the state’s largest gathering of conservatives.
Mr. DeSantis spoke with President Biden and officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency about Florida’s storm preparations. The governor also huddled with officials from the state’s utilities and local sheriffs and government officials.
The governor trails Mr. Trump by double digits but leads the rest of the Republican pack in many polls.
Mr. DeSantis returned to Florida on Sunday after a deadly mass shooting in Jacksonville that police said was racially motivated.
Some community activists booed the governor at a vigil for the three Black people gunned down in a store. Police said the gunman had penned a racist manifesto.
On Monday, Mr. DeSantis announced a $1.1 million grant to assist victims’ families and increase campus security at nearby Edward Waters University, a historically Black school.
“We are not going to let our [historically black colleges and universities] be targets for hateful scumbags,” Mr. DeSantis said.
Idalia is intensifying and is expected to be a major hurricane when it reaches Florida’s Gulf Coast, the National Hurricane Center said Monday. Officials declared states of emergency in dozens of counties and ordered some evacuations in preparation for potentially life-threatening storm surges.
Idalia is on track to be the first storm to hit Florida this hurricane season. The state is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Ian almost a year ago.
The state has mobilized 1,100 National Guard members, with 2,400 high-water vehicles and 12 aircraft for rescue and recovery efforts.
The Hurricane Center issued a warning from Longboat Key in the Sarasota area to the Holocene river, past Tampa Bay. Pasco County, north of Tampa, ordered a mandatory evacuation for low-lying areas prone to flooding and residents living in manufactured or mobile homes. More evacuation orders were expected in other areas.
The storm was expected to increase speed, turn northeast on Tuesday, and reach Florida’s western coast as a dangerous major hurricane on Wednesday.
So far this year, the East Coast has been spared from tropical storms. In the West, Tropical Storm Hilary caused widespread flooding, mudslides and road closures earlier this month in Mexico, California, Nevada and points to the north.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
