Progressives spent years attacking Florida's Governor.
They called his education reforms dangerous and extremist.
And Ron DeSantis just got two words from U.S. News that have progressives in full meltdown.
Florida landed at #6 overall in U.S. News & World Report's 2025 Best States ranking – jumping three spots from #9 last year.¹
That's the highest overall ranking Florida has ever achieved.
But here's what really has the Left scrambling to explain away reality.
Florida Sweeps the Categories That Actually Matter
Florida didn't just crack the top 10.
The Sunshine State dominated in the two categories that determine whether Americans can build good lives: economy and education.²
https://twitter.com/SarasotaREguy/status/1988315070905139564?s=20
Florida ranked #1 in the nation for economy.
And ranked #2 for education – maintaining its streak as the top state for higher education eight years running.³
The economy ranking reflects what everyone already knows who's paying attention.
Job growth exploded at nearly 5% annually over three years – second-best in America. Economic output grew even faster at over 6%, crushing every other state.
More than 1 million people moved into Florida in 2022 alone, making it a hotspot destination.
No state income tax helps.
So does keeping businesses open when Democrats were locking down their states during COVID.
On education, Florida crushed it across the board.
Students actually finish their degrees on time – Florida ranks second nationally for graduation rates at both two-year and four-year public colleges.
Florida students pay the absolute lowest in-state tuition and fees in America at public four-year colleges.
That's not a theory.
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/1987958458696581282?s=20
That's measurable results that affect real students and real families.
DeSantis Policies Driving Results Media Called Dangerous
Remember when the media said DeSantis was destroying education?
In 2019, DeSantis expanded school choice and approved a bill allowing parents to choose any school for their child with taxpayer-funded vouchers.
He eliminated Common Core standards and replaced them with Florida's B.E.S.T. Standards focused on civics and American history. He signed the Stop Woke Act in 2022.
Progressive groups and teachers unions screamed that Florida was becoming an educational wasteland.
The results aren't close anymore.
This year, 71% of Florida schools earned an "A" or "B" grade – up from 64% just last year.¹⁰
Nearly half of all schools now get straight A's, compared to 38% before.¹¹
The graduation rate? Almost 90%.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1944830338884362427?s=20
More than half a million kids are using school choice.
Charter schools are crushing it with 77% earning top grades.¹²
DeSantis could have backed down when the unions and their media friends turned up the heat.
Instead, he doubled down on parents over bureaucrats and students over systems.
Turns out that actually works when you let results speak instead of listening to activists.
The Left Can't Spin Away What's Happening
Watch how progressives try explaining these rankings.
Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar tried dismissing the results.
"In K-12, there is a lot of data out there that shows Florida performs no better than it did 20 years ago," Spar told U.S. News.
That's retreat mode.
When your opponent is winning on every measurable outcome that matters to families – graduation rates, college affordability, job growth, economic opportunity – all you can do is claim the metrics don't count.
Critics also point out Florida ranked #47 in "opportunity" – a category measuring affordability and economic mobility.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1898891751336624440?s=20
But that lower ranking actually proves DeSantis is right.
People are flooding into Florida precisely because the opportunity is there – driving up housing costs through sheer demand.
Data shows Florida saw an average net migration rate over the past three years of 1.68%, second only to Idaho's 1.8%.
More than a million people don't move somewhere because opportunity doesn't exist.
They move there because it does.
Trump Administration Watching Florida Model Closely
Florida's vindication matters beyond state lines.
DeSantis has been promoting Florida's education reforms as a national model, urging Congress and President Trump's administration to adopt Florida's school choice framework.
Trump invited DeSantis to attend his signing ceremony in March for an executive order seeking to shutter the Department of Education.
The Trump administration isn't just watching.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1919769688185168204?s=20
They're already replicating the DeSantis playbook on education.
School choice, parental rights, eliminating DEI indoctrination, ending federal overreach – it's all straight from Florida's blueprint.
A White House spokesperson said, "Many states, including Florida, are leading in this area, and they now have a partner in the Oval Office who prioritizes parents' fundamental role in choosing what's best for their children."
For years, Democrats and their media allies told Americans that DeSantis was an extremist taking Florida off a cliff.
Now the data proves he was right all along.
And the rest of America is about to get the Florida treatment.
¹ U.S. News & World Report, "Best States Rankings 2025," November 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Author Name, "Why Florida Is the Best State in Education and Economy," U.S. News & World Report, May 7, 2024.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Michelle Vecerina, "Florida ranks No. 6 best state nationally," Tampa Bay Times, November 10, 2025.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Ajay Uppaluri, "DeSantis promotes Florida as a national model for education policy," News4JAX, January 10, 2025.
¹⁰ Florida Department of Education, "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Positive Achievements in 2025 School Grades," 2025.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Ajay Uppaluri, "DeSantis promotes Florida as a national model for education policy," News4JAX, January 10, 2025.
¹³ New York Times, "On education, DeSantis' Florida paved the way for Trump's America," WLRN, May 20, 2025.
¹⁴ Ibid.
