Politico: “But DeSantis still hasn’t faced one of the toughest challenges a Florida leader can encounter: a major hurricane.
That’s poised to change this week as Hurricane Ian, a 500-mile wide monster of a storm, builds strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and appears destined to slam into some portion of Florida’s west coast.
The hurricane is on track to make landfall in the state just six weeks ahead of the November elections and, depending on how well the governor responds to the potentially catastrophic storm, DeSantis may emerge more popular or open himself up to criticism.
Though no governor will frame hurricane responses in political terms, storms shaped the legacies of former Republican Govs. Jeb Bush and Rick Scott, both of whom dealt with multiple major weather events. While no elected official wishes for a major natural disaster, hurricanes offer almost unlimited access to free national media, a huge boost to any governor’s political fortunes.
“Fail a response: hard to get reelected, and your agenda stalls,” former Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Craig Fugate, who served as Bush’s emergency management director, said in a text message. Do well, though, and it “adds capital to your agenda, and sets you up for higher office.””