DeSantis slams California ‘farce’ vote counts boosting Democrats weeks after election

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) attacked California for its slow ballot counting process, which still hasn’t concluded weeks after Election Day.

He mentioned two Republican incumbents, Reps. Michelle Steel (R-CA) and John Duarte (R-CA), who have watched their voting leads disappear with Democratic ballots streaming in late.

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“We are on the eve of Thanksgiving and California still hasn’t finished counting votes,” DeSantis posted on X on Wednesday afternoon. “Post-election day ballot ‘dumps’ continue to net Democrat votes over two GOP incumbents. This may reduce the Republican majority in the US House to a razor thin 220-215. What a farce.”

Steele conceded defeat in California’s 45th Congressional District just hours later.

DeSantis’s slamming of California is a continuation of the feud he has with Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who he debated about a year ago in a publicized red versus blue, Florida against California face-off on Fox News. Both got in jabs against each other and fueled presidential speculation.

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For DeSantis, it temporarily boosted his campaign against eventual President-elect Donald Trump. He ignited a social media mockery of Newsom by holding up a human “poop map” of San Francisco that showed the locations of feces across the city.

And for Newsom, it boosted his profile in a time when cries for President Joe Biden to step down were at a low whimper. His viral moment came with a stabbing remark aimed at the Florida governor: “There’s one thing in closing that we have in common, is neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.”

Those cries would grow in the coming months until Biden relented and stepped down. Newsom got a chunk of the presidential speculation before Vice President Kamala Harris snatched the nomination and kept it.

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Now post-election, both governors will be term-limited and forced to step down after the 2026 elections. That would open a pathway for either politician to run in the 2028 presidential election if they choose, and both will likely be involved in speculation.

DeSantis’s attack could be the opening shot in a feud that carries into November of 2028.