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Ron DeSantis sworn-in for his second term as governor of Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ron DeSantis took the oath of office on Tuesday to begin his second term as governor of Florida.

Three other familiar faces also stepped forward to take their oath of office, joined by one new face Commissioner of Agriculture, Wilton Simpson, who replaces Nikki Fried, Florida’s last statewide elected Democrat.

Along with DeSantis, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, CFO Jimmy Patronis and Attorney General Ashley Moody were sworn in on Tuesday.

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While republicans expanded their control over the state capital, all eyes are on the man whom many see as the future of the party, not just in Florida but nationwide.

“Over the last few years, as so many states in our country grinded their citizens down, we in Florida lifted our people up,” DeSantis said.

In a 16-minute speech the governor, bolstered by a landslide win in November, and poll numbers showing him in a commanding position for the GOP nomination for president, discussed Florida while drawing stark contrasts with the federal government and the rest of the country.

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“The policies pursued by these states have sparked a mass exodus of productive Americans from these jurisdictions with Florida serving as the most desired destination, and promised land of sanity,” said DeSantis.

While the speech encapsulated the last four years, the governor did not offer much in the way of a specific agenda for the upcoming legislative term, a term that is expected to deal with abortion and gun rights.

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Instead, the governor sought to portray the state the way he did on the campaign trail, as the last land of the free.

“We will stand firm in the faith. We will be courageous. We will be strong, and we thank God and are proud to be citizens of the great free state of Florida. Thank you,” DeSantis concluded.

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