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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced he will seek the nomination to be the Republican nominee for the United States presidency. The U.S. is the worlds superpower, both economically and militarily, with geopolitical interests throughout all continents and economic impact in most countries. As such, American elections garner a lot of attention, especially in Europe.

For many reasons, Governor DeSantis has become the symbol of effective, strong conservative governance, and Florida is a blueprint for many center-Right governments in American states and European countries. The American support for his candidacy would in fact show that conservatives reject the cult of the individual, as they often have in the past, embracing instead the best common sense, conservative policies. For Europeans, it would mean a trusted and reliable partner that would strengthen the U.S. and the Western alliance in front of aggressions and hegemonic aspirations of our geopolitical adversaries and would present a model that works for bolstering the economy.

DeSantis won the race for Congress in 2012 against all odds, going door-to-door together with his wife, Casey, and convincing people to choose an idealist who could get things done. Subsequently, he became one of the founders of the House Freedom Caucus, one of the most conservative groups in the United States Congress, advocating for fiscal responsibility, limited government, individual freedoms, less bureaucracy, and stronger national defense. Just as he managed to go into Harvard and Yale and come out more conservative than when he started his academic path, in Congress he managed to not only avoid becoming part of the swamp, but also stand up to it. Similarly, he successfully stood up to Fauci-ism and the worldwide infringements of human rights and came out victorious.

In 2018, DeSantis won by a margin of 0.4% against Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum. Four years later, with a successful track record, he transformed the margin of victory into an almost 20% difference with his rival Charlie Crist, demonstrating that voters award competence, politicians that stick to their values and principles and policies that strengthen their freedoms and prosperity.

It was the largest margin of any Florida Governor in 40 years, winning comfortably the vote of men (64%), women (53%), Hispanic (58%), White (65%), independent (53%), and Republican (97%) and reaching 13% with African-Americans and 5% with Democrats. He won Miami Dade, a Democrat stronghold, for the first time in two decades, and turned Palm Beach County Republican for the first time since 1986. Under him, Republicans won supermajorities in both chambers of the Florida Legislature and DeSantis used these victories to push for and sign laws based on what he actually promised when running for re-election. Mr. DeSantis showed that he can win even where Democrats think they have the upper hand. Fundamentally, he transformed a swing state into a reliable Republican stronghold, basically obliterating the Left from all positions of power. More importantly, he can win against President Biden, because he can win states such as Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and many others that other contenders cannot. Electability is one of his greatest advantages.

The governor, immensely popular within his state, ensured a Red Wave in Florida in an otherwise surprisingly bad year for Republicans and helped secure the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. As an example of the efficiency of his governorship together with the House and Senate of the state, just in the recent legislature, they have created the largest school choice program in American history, banned abortion after six weeks, approved a $2 billion tax cut, strengthened gun rights, banned sex change operations from being performed on minors, barred woke initiatives in universities, cracked down on illegal immigration, expanded parental rights in education, protected the rights of individuals against the overreach of government in collusion with large corporations.

Moreover, he signed a digital bill of rights, to protect his citizens from the overreach of big tech, enhanced penalties for fentanyl dealing, fined credit card companies for tracking citizens gun purchases, made it easier to own a house, outlawed social credit scores, banning government from considering social, political or ideological beliefs when evaluating potential vendors, outlawed central bank digital currency and approved laws that fight antisemitism and any type of discrimination. All of these common sense and widely accepted ideas are transformed into law in a way that would make it difficult for the next governor to undo them.

That is exactly the best feature of Governor DeSantis. He is a strategist that acts with a discipline and precision often lacking in other politicians, giving the reassuring feeling that the adults are now in charge. He has made sure that his governorship is a consequential one and more importantly, that his policies continue to improve and protect the freedoms and lives of his citizens even after he is gone. All of this has been done without increasing the size or degree of interference of government, expanding instead the liberties of citizens.

He has gathered a team that works competently towards their common goal, free of leaks and unnecessary drama. As president of the United States, his record proves that he would preside over a government that cuts bureaucracy, runs efficiently, and does not sabotage itself, while enabling individuals and families to prosper and unleash their economic potential. More importantly, he has shown an admirable knowledge of conservative philosophy and policies and a willingness to study and understand laws and proposals in depth.

Under his leadership, Florida became home of the free, and beacon of liberty across the globe, incentivizing citizens, and businesses to move there from wouldbe socialist states that are high in crime and low in prosperity. Florida was number one in net migration, in new business formation, in education, and economic freedom. The crime rate fell to a 50-year record low level.

Overall, he has pursued supply-side policies such as tax cuts, deregulation, incentivizing investments in key industries and technology, while keeping government expenditure low. In fact, Florida has a budget surplus, even though it has a lower budget than New York, which through its high taxes and massive spending often goes on the brink of bankruptcy. These policies have resulted in an unemployment rate of 2.6% as of April 2023, gross domestic product real rate of growth for the fourth quarter of 2022 of 3.7%, a budget surplus for FY 2021-22 of $21.8 billion, the highest in the states history, and a yearly private sector employment growth of 4.7%, as of March 2023, all metrics superior to the national ones. As a conservative, he understands the necessity to lower the deficits, maintain fiscal discipline, and encourage entrepreneurship and the true free market.

DeSantis has combined these free market, supply-side policies with a higher focus on culture, tradition, and individual freedoms. This is the fusionism of the 21st century that all the West needs to strengthen the United States and Europe as the two pillars that will keep the balance of power in the West, just as President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher did in the eighties. Wokeism and cancel culture, higher government intervention and their collusion with corporations that in fact do not serve shareholders or customers but agendas imposed by fringe segments, are the modern manifestation of communism and fascism precisely the policies DeSantis has been fighting.

He seems to be the only one who can unite a strong coalition of the spectrum of the Right, from social and fiscal conservatives to classical liberals whose philosophy stands at the foundation of the U.S.. Moderates, national conservatives, common sense libertarians and principled realism foreign policy advocates will also find him attractive. All of these different streams of the Right, which have conflicted oftn with one another in many aspects, have many things in common. To win and effectively address the challenges of our time, an alliance based on the common traits of all of them is needed. I have seen this Reaganite fusion during Governor DeSantis governance and that will be the key to winning the Presidency and governing successfully.

American center-Right individuals of all streams and philosophies should endorse and join DeSantis and his alliance if they want their voices heard, concerns addressed and the country safer, stronger, and more prosperous. His election can serve as an incentive to his European counterparts and help strengthen the bond between the freedom-loving nations in front of the considerable challenges and threats ahead.

Nikola Kedhi is an economic commentator, financial consultant and contributor to various media such as Fox News, Newsweek, the Daily Signal, Newsmax and Mises Institute. Kedhi is also a co-author of the Constitution of Center-Right Values of the Democratic Party of Albania. He can be reached on Twitter: @nikedhi95 and on Substack.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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Giants walk off on Bailey’s inside-the-park homer

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Giants walk off on Bailey's inside-the-park homer

SAN FRANCISCO — Patrick Bailey hit a three-run, inside-the-park home run with one out in the ninth inning, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.

Bailey became just the third catcher in MLB history to hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run, joining the Chicago Cubs’ Pat Moran in 1907 and the Washington Nationals’ Bennie Tate in 1926.

Bailey’s homer would have been an outside-the-park home run in 29 of 30 ballparks, with Oracle Park being the exception.

Mike Yastrzemski reached base twice and scored to help the Giants to their sixth win in seven games.

Casey Schmitt began the rally with a leadoff double. After Jung Hoo Lee popped out, Wilmer Flores lined a single to center.

Bailey, who grounded into a double play and struck out in two of his previous at-bats, then smashed a 1-0 fastball from Jordan Romano (1-4) into right-center field that ricocheted off the brick part of the wall.

Ryan Walker (2-3) retired one batter, with two on in the top of the ninth, to earn the win.

Phillies All-Star Kyle Schwarber had two hits, including his team-leading 28th home run.

Schwarber flew out, struck out and was hit by a pitch before homering off Giants reliever Spencer Bivens into McCovey Cove. Brandon Marsh, who singled as a pinch hitter leading off the inning, scored on the play.

Two days after being named an All-Star for the second time in his career, Robbie Ray gave up four hits and one run in 5⅔ innings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ohtani takes Miz deep but phenom fans 12 in win

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Ohtani takes Miz deep but phenom fans 12 in win

MILWAUKEE — Shohei Ohtani greeted Jacob Misiorowski with a leadoff homer, but the Milwaukee Brewers‘ rookie phenom got the last word.

After giving up Ohtani’s 431-foot blast, Misiorowski responded with another dominant outing. He struck out a career-high 12 batters — including two-way superstar Ohtani in the third inning — to lead the Brewers to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

“It’s Shohei Ohtani,” Misiorowski said. “You kind of expect [that]. It’s cool to see him do it in action, but it fires me up even more coming back the next at-bat and striking him out. I’m right there. I think it was a moment of like, ‘OK, now we go.'”

Misiorowski, whose fastball routinely tops 100 mph, threw an 88.2 mph curveball on an 0-2 count to Ohtani, who crushed it for his 31st homer. That’s the most by a Dodgers player before the All-Star break.

It was the 21st career leadoff homer for the three-time MVP, who struck out swinging on a curveball in the third and walked to start the sixth. That was the only walk given up by Misiorowski, who scattered four hits.

“Really good stuff, aggressive in the zone,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “But what really stood out to me was his command and control.”

Misiorowski outdueled three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who surpassed 3,000 career strikeouts in his previous outing. Asked Monday about his matchup with Misiorowski, Kershaw said he only knew that the 6-foot-7 right-hander threw hard.

“I know him now, huh?” Kershaw said Tuesday. “That was super impressive. That was unbelievable. It was really special. Everything. Obviously the velo, but he’s got four pitches, commands the ball. I don’t know how you hit that, honestly. That’s just really tough.”

Misiorowski was glad to get Kershaw’s attention.

“I saw something online that he didn’t now who I was, so I hope he knows me now,” Misiorowski said. “It’s kind of cool.”

In five starts since the Brewers called him up from the minors, Misiorowski has already beaten Kershaw and 2024 NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. In another outing, Misiorowski carried a perfect game into the seventh inning.

“He’s just broken the shell,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s just out of the egg, all arms and legs. He’s still got gooey stuff coming off, you can see it, all arms and legs, but there’s something special about him.”

The numbers would indicate as much. Misiorowski is 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA and has given up only 12 hits in 25⅔ innings.

He topped out at 101.6 mph and threw 20 pitches of at least 100 on Tuesday. He also threw 19 curveballs after using curves only 10% of the time before Tuesday.

He was coming off his only shaky performance, giving up five runs — including a grand slam by Brandon Nimmo — and three walks over 3⅔ innings Wednesday in a 7-3 loss to the New York Mets.

It looked as if it might be more of the same after Ohtani went deep. Misiorowski responded by striking out 12 of the next 16 batters.

“I think that’s my job, is to figure it out on the fly,” he said. “I feel like I did it tonight.”

He got out of a jam in the sixth. The Dodgers trailed 2-1 and had runners on second and third with one out, but third baseman Andruw Monasterio fielded a grounder and threw out Ohtani at the plate, and Misiorowski retired Michael Conforto on a grounder.

Misiorowski pumped his fist as he headed toward the dugout, then watched the Brewers’ bullpen nail down the win.

“It’s so satisfying,” Misiorowski said. “It’s just a dream come true, to do what I did.”

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Mets’ Mendoza: Snubbed Soto ‘an All-Star for us’

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Mets' Mendoza: Snubbed Soto 'an All-Star for us'

BALTIMORE — The New York Mets consider Juan Soto to be a bona fide All-Star, despite the snub he received from those who selected the National League squad for the Midsummer Classic on July 15.

Soto, in his first year with the Mets, has performed well enough to earn the respect of his manager and teammates. In their opinion, he’s deserving of a place in the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.

“He’s an All-Star for us,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday night after the Mets beat Baltimore 7-6. “It’s frustrating, but I’m hoping in the next couple of days we hear something and he makes it.”

Soto drove in the winning run with a sharp single on the first pitch of the 10th inning. That capped a night in which he went 3 for 5 to raise his batting average to .269 with 21 homers and 52 RBIs.

Soto has walked 72 times, by far the most in the majors, but he can also lash out at a pitcher when necessary.

“He’s got a pretty good understanding of what the pitchers are trying to do to him,” Mendoza said. “There is his awareness of the game, he’s going to see pitchers. There are times when he’s going to be aggressive. Tonight was one of those nights. First pitch in the 10th, he’s attacking.”

Soto made the All-Star team as a member of the Nationals, Padres and Yankees each year since 2021. The streak appears to be over. But his teammates believe he deserves to go.

“What he done all year is just incredible, and the results are good enough,” Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes said. “The consistency he’s showed up with, at the at-bats he’s taken, is more than an All-Star. He’s one of the best in the game and a big part of our lineup.”

Soto seems rather philosophical about the snub.

“Sometimes, you’re going to make it and sometimes you don’t,” he told reporters after Sunday’s loss to the Yankees. “It’s just part of baseball.”

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