She is the wife of Ron DeSantis, the mother of his children, and a considerable asset in tempering his reputation as a cold man. But Casey DeSantis is above all her first political adviser, which makes her essential in her campaign for the Republican nomination.
His talents will be invaluable for the governor of Florida, who is coming out weakened by a candidacy announcement overshadowed by serious technical problems.
Never far from Ron DeSantis during important events, this 42-year-old former journalist is as comfortable on the microphone as in front of voters.
After Hurricane Ian hit their state last year, Casey DeSantis is raising funds for the victims and going out into the field to offer her empathy – precisely what her husband lacks, according to her critics.
If the ultra-conservative policies he pursues in Florida are well known, his personality remains quite mysterious.
“I always get asked, who is Ron DeSantis?” she says in a video released for the Republican’s 2022 re-election campaign.
Before painting a rave portrait of her: loving father to their three young children Madison, Mason and Grandma, and pillar of the household when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 – she has been in remission for over a year.
“He fought for me when I didn’t have the strength to fight. That’s who Ron DeSantis is,” Casey DeSantis concludes, his voice shaking.
This caring husband image is essential for the Republican.
In Sioux Center, a small town in Iowa where Ron DeSantis is in operation seduction in mid-May, the inhabitants say they appreciate this “good father” side, in accordance with “Christian precepts”.
His private life “shows that he has good values”, approves Chantelle Derooy, 39, who holds her daughter by the hand.
“To me, all of this gives him a head start over Trump,” Craig Hoftyzer, 47, told AFP.
At the time of the walkabout, Casey DeSantis is almost as successful as her husband. One of the participants even proudly holds an autographed portrait of her in her hand.
The same day, when the couple participates in a session of questions and answers, Ron DeSantis, faithful to his image, prefers to talk about figures and laws than to share private anecdotes.
It is therefore up to Casey DeSantis to attenuate, with a few human touches, the seriousness of her husband.
“When he comes home, don’t think for a second that he’s going straight to bed. I’m giving him three young children, and I’m going to bed,” she said, to laughter from the audience. .
But Casey DeSantis’ role isn’t just that of an empathetic companion.
If her elegant outfits earn her comparisons with former First Lady Jackie Kennedy – or Melania Trump – her political influence would make her more like a Hillary Clinton.
“She’s not only his closest, smartest adviser, but also his secret weapon,” Jared Moskowitz, a former DeSantis administration veteran now elected Democrat, told The New York Times.
Casey DeSantis, just as conservative as her husband, has even been nicknamed the “co-governor”, so involved is she in every decision. At the risk of suffocating other collaborators, according to some observers.
She advises him in particular on his communication, with his experience as a presenter for local channels, a job that she abandons when the political career of Ron DeSantis takes off.
Born in 1980 in Ohio, this fan of horse riding, a graduate in economics, was also a journalist specializing in golf, another of her passions.
This couple of devout Christians also met while refining their swing, before getting married in 2009 at the Disney World amusement park in Florida. Ironically, the governor is now engaged in a showdown with the firm of Mickey, opposed to its policies deemed homophobic.
Will Florida’s First Lady be packing her bags at the White House? Her husband is still very far from it, but if he succeeds, Casey DeSantis will have something to do with it, according to many observers.
Ron DeSantis himself seems to be aware of this. In his latest book, he says meeting Casey was “the biggest stroke of luck of (his) life”.
25/05/2023 17:11:47 – Washington (AFP) – © 2023 AFP