Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to sign one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country could cost him votes if he runs for president, political operatives said Friday, and doing it in a private event late at night suggests he’s well aware of that.
“DeSantis or any other [presidential] nominee signing a six-week ban is starting with a losing hand,” said David Jolly, a former Republican congressman from St. Petersburg and co-founder of the Forward Party.
The governor “knows this is a double-edged sword,” added Mac Stipanovich, a Tallahassee consultant. “He wouldn’t have signed it in private if he didn’t know the consequences.”
The bill bans most abortions after six weeks before most women even know they’re pregnant. It provides exceptions for victims of rape or incest for up to 15 weeks but requires they prove it by providing a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record, or other documents.
DeSantis’ office sent out a news release shortly after 11 p.m. Thursday with a picture showing legislative leaders and about 40 other people cheering as he signed the bill in his office. Lawmakers had given final approval to the measure several hours before and sent the bill to him at 9 p.m.
The office then sent out an updated schedule noting that the bill signing occurred at 10:45 p.m. Earlier, DeSantis was in Ohio on Thursday promoting his book and speaking at a Republican dinner function.
“We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said in the news release. “I applaud the Legislature for passing the Heartbeat Protection Act that expands pro-life protections and provides additional resources for young mothers and families.”
Spokespeople for the governor did not respond to a request for further comment Friday.
The quiet signing was in contrast to the hundreds of people who attended a public ceremony when DeSantis signed the 15-week bill at the Nación de Fe church in Kissimmee on April 14, 2022.
It’s the second major legislation he’s approved behind closed doors this month. On April 3, he signed a bill allowing concealed carry of weapons in the state without a permit.
“Many DeSantis bill signings are like political rallies when he feels it’s an issue that will help him,” said Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida.
“Clearly he did not feel that this issue was going to help him politically,” Jewett said. “[But] in trying to avoid publicity, he’s done it in such a way as to attract quite a bit of publicity.”
Eskamani: ‘DeSantis is a coward’
Democrats said they were not surprised.
“DeSantis is a coward who doesn’t want Floridians to know about his extreme anti-abortion platform, which is why he signed this bill as quickly as possible and with no press coverage,” said state Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, in a statement.
[ Q&A: What happens next with Florida's six-week abortion law ]
The governor, widely considered a potential candidate for president next year, could struggle to win support from independent voters and others for signing what opponents say is a near-total ban on abortion.
Stipanovich said the decision to hold a private ceremony with just one photo was so “soccer moms in Detroit and Pittsburgh won’t have as much information to go on. Fewer photos and videos limit the material that can be used against him.”
In Michigan, a key swing state visited by DeSantis just last week, “the reaction here is incredulous,” said Jenna Bednar, a professor of political science at the University of Michigan.
Bednar pointed to the 2022 elections, in which Democrats won control in Michigan, Pennsylvania and other battleground states in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision striking down Roe v. Wade.
Voters in Kansas, Kentucky and Montana also defeated anti-abortion measures on the ballot last year, and just last week Wisconsin also elected a liberal Supreme Court justice who had campaigned on maintaining abortion rights.
“We had moderate voters crossing over what would be stereotypical party-line votes to support positions that they believe are the right policy choice for themselves and for their families,” Bednar said. ”I don’t understand what the Florida Legislature and what Gov. DeSantis are thinking in terms of where the moderates of this country are.”
Polls: Americans back abortion rights
Polls have shown Americans largely support abortion rights, with just 25% saying they wanted stricter abortion bans in an August survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That number was at just 32% even in states where abortion was banned last year.
In February, a Gallup poll showed only 15% of Americans wanted stricter bans.
Even in Florida, a University of North Florida poll from May found 67% of Floridians wanted abortion legal in all or most cases.
Jolly said DeSantis’ hand was forced on the abortion front by GOP legislators.
“He’s a follower, not a leader, on this issue,” Jolly said. " … But he had to [sign it] for the Republican primary. You will not hear him talk about this but for one line in his speeches.”
At an event at Liberty University in Virginia on Friday, DeSantis didn’t even do that. While his signing of the six-week ban was mentioned by the conservative college’s chancellor, Jonathan Falwell, in introducing the governor, DeSantis reportedly did not include it in his remarks.
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Jewett said GOP legislators in Florida were afraid of conservative opponents in primaries, which is why they pushed forward on a bill that DeSantis had shown only tepid public support for.
“He could have just declared victory on the 15-week bill and said, ‘We’ll wait until the courts rule on that first, and then we can move on,’” Jewett said. “And that might have taken him into next year. But they [Republicans in the Legislature] were ready to move. So they did. And he did.”
The six-week law won’t take effect unless the Florida Supreme Court rules in favor of the 15-week ban approved by the Legislature and DeSantis last year. A pending lawsuit before the high court contends the law violates the privacy provisions of the Florida Constitution.
Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book, D-Davie, reminded Floridians on Friday that the 15-week law is still in effect.
“Florida’s new abortion ban turns back the clock on women’s rights and essential freedoms – bringing the government into exam rooms and criminalizing women and their doctors over private healthcare decisions,” Book said in a statement. “But let’s be clear: abortion until 15 weeks IS still legal in Florida, until the Supreme Court decides our fate.
“For now, keep your appointments for care and make new ones if you need them. If the law does go into effect, there will still be options for women – not in this state, but abortion funds will help women become medical refugees for needed health care,” she added. “Do not take matters into your own hands, there are people who will help.”
Editor Mark Skoneki contributed to this report.