But as Florida Republicans embraced DeSantis’ charge, the Sarasota school board did not follow suit. Last year, the district balked at DeSantis’ order to drop mask mandates, an episode that drew scorn from anti-mask advocates, fostered hostility at school board meetings, and led state legislators to dock $12 million from the district’s $1 billion budget as punishment for defying the governor’s orders.
The dynamics emboldened Democrats, too, pushing them to take on school board races in an effort to reverse DeSantis’ forward march on students’ rights. Dawnyelle Singleton decided to challenge Ziegler after “all the negative attention” she saw surrounding the masking fights at school board meetings.
Indeed, DeSantis’ attention and the fundraising are just some of the shocking elements of the typically lowkey campaign. Another Democrat-endorsed candidate in Sarasota was plagued by mobile billboards that blast her as a “woke” and “a baby killer,” a reference to her previous work for Planned Parenthood.
“Parental rights” are to Ron DeSantis what election conspiracies are to Donald Trump: A signature issue reshaping his party.