Note: This “Moore to the Point” commentary aired on NewsTalkSTL on Thursday, June 23rd. Audio included below.

Poor old Florida Man frequently winds up as the punchline of whacky news stories out of the Sunshine State, but I want to take a moment today to express my gratitude for Florida and its voters.

In 2018, the governor’s race came down to the former Mayor of Tallahassee, Democrat Andrew Gillum, and a not-all-that-well-known US Congressman, Ron DeSantis — a Republican. The race was close, with roughly 30,000 votes separating the candidates, but in the end, DeSantis won.

Since then, he’s acquitted himself right nicely, demonstrating leadership not just in his own state, but nationally, as we’ve battled through the pandemic and, more recently, economic woes, not to mention contentious culture wars.

Speaking of acquitted…in contrast, Gillum’s formerly rising star has fallen precipitously – first, following an unfortunate 2020 incident in which he was found inebriated in a hotel room with a man suspected of having OD’d on meth, and most recently, following a 21-count federal indictment for campaign fraud, announced Wednesday.

Given their divergent trajectories, it only seems fitting to say: “Florida, you dodged a bullet – and the rest of the nation thanks you.”