Ron DeSantis holds a rally in Orlando, Fla., November 5, 2018. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Florida’s Republican candidate for governor, Ron DeSantis, on Monday dismissed polls showing him lagging behind his Democratic opponent, Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum.

“When the president won Florida in 2016, Republicans were down significantly going into Election Day,” DeSantis said on Fox & Friends.

The three-term congressman trails Gillum by seven points, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Monday.


“With the absentee and early [ballots], and I don’t have the final data, but we are either ahead or close going to Election Day and today on Monday, the Panhandle still has early voting because of the storm,” DeSantis said. “I think the momentum is on our side. I don’t think we could have asked for a better turnout for Republicans. And we know we are going to get a good turnout on Election Day.”

The midterms, including the Florida gubernatorial race, are widely seen as a referendum on President Trump and his policies. DeSantis has been a vocal defender of Trump, even releasing an ad showing him reading the president’s book, The Art of the Deal, to his children and building a border wall of blocks with them.


Gillum supports impeaching Trump, who he says promotes policies of “hate and separation.”

“Wouldn’t it be something to have a governor who’s prepared to stand up to Donald Trump?” Gillum asked supporters in Miami on Sunday.


Senator Marco Rubio, who stumped for DeSantis on Monday in Jacksonville, predicted a “red wave” of Republican voters in Tuesday’s midterms rather than the blue wave Democrats have claimed is coming.

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