TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday criticized the national media coverage of the presidential election Tuesday night and praised Florida’s efficient count of more than 11 million votes.
“Perhaps 2020 was the year that we finally vanquished the ghosts of Bush versus Gore,” DeSantis said during a press conference in Tallahassee.
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There was no repeat of the recount drama that played out in the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore or what played out in the 2018 elections in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
“Flordia was a national embarrassment in how it counted votes. Now, it’s the national model of efficiency,” former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said on Fox News.
Florida election results were tabulated quickly in the swing state Tuesday night while other key states are still counting votes and may be for days to come.
“The people are actually looking at Florida, and asking the question, ‘Why can’t the states be more like Florida?’” DeSantis said. “I think that the contrast between how a tough battleground state like Florida handled the election versus what we’re seeing in some states, I think that it’s dramatic.”
DeSantis ripped the national media for waiting until well after midnight to call the state for President Donald Trump.
“The fact of the matter is, if you wanted to be aggressive like they were the other direction you could have called it as soon as the early and vote-and-mail votes came in from Miami-Dade,” said DeSantis, a Trump ally. “There was no way he Donald Trump was going to lose with just that number. I understand being a little bit cautious, let some votes come in, but by 9, 9:30 (p.m.) this was in the bag.”
He also ridiculed Nevada, which stopped counting ballots overnight, and criticized Fox News for “jumping the gun on Arizona.”
“I have been talking with the White House. They think they are going to win Arizona,” DeSantis said.
Biden flipped Arizona, according to the Associated Press, a state that has reliably voted Republican in recent elections.
Capitol News Service’s Mike Vasilinda contributed to this report.