Governor Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, told an audience in Hershey, Pennsylvania, that his administration has rolled back policies advanced by what he called the political left and has enacted measures on education, abortion and state pensions that he said protected families and restored institutional balance.

DeSantis said his administration responded to emergencies and policy fights while pursuing what he described as an agenda to “regain these institutions.” He cited hurricane response and a string of policy changes as evidence of that approach: “In fact, with hurricane Milton, we had 4,200,000 people's power restored, in 72 hours. That's a world record for hurricanes,” he said.

The governor outlined a series of policy actions he said his administration took in Florida. He said his state implemented universal school choice, banned what he called “gender mutilation of minors,” enacted a heartbeat law described in his remarks as “the strongest pro life legislation in the history of Florida,” eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion programs from the public university system, and instituted five-year performance reviews for tenured professors. He said Florida removed environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations from its pension fund and banned the imposition of a central bank digital currency for the state.

DeSantis also described actions related to criminal justice and corporate accountability. He said he removed two prosecutors he described as elected with support from George Soros, and he recounted a public dispute with The Walt Disney Company over cultural and parental-rights issues.

On ballot measures, DeSantis said his administration and allied activists defeated two costly and heavily funded 2024 initiatives in Florida — one on abortion and one on marijuana — which he characterized as extreme. He gave campaign-spending figures for the two efforts he criticized, saying the marijuana initiative spent about $150 million and the abortion initiative about $130 million, and noting the combined total of “$280,000,000” in outside spending.

DeSantis described changes in voter registration in Florida during his tenure, saying his state went from a narrow partisan registration advantage to having “1,400,000 more registered Republicans” than at a prior benchmark. He framed that as evidence his policies attracted residents and shifted political alignments.

Asked about abortion litigation and judicial appointments in Pennsylvania during a question-and-answer session, DeSantis emphasized the role of voters in electing judges in that state and urged local engagement. He recommended civic participation as a remedy where courts might be inclined to expand rights by judicial decision.

The governor closed by urging the audience to organize and support like-minded civic groups, and by asking for prayers for his family; he referenced his wife’s 2021 breast cancer diagnosis and thanked those who had prayed for them. Eric, identified in remarks as associated with Florida Family Voice, moderated part of the event and invited further engagement from the audience.

The remarks were a personal and political summary rather than a presentation of pending legislation or formal actions to be taken by the Pennsylvania government. DeSantis repeatedly framed the items he described as results from policies enacted while he served as Florida’s governor and urged listeners in Pennsylvania to consider similar approaches at the state level.