Two sitting Saint Johns County commissioners were just charged with election fraud for faking an endorsement.
Now the county's activists are screaming that DeSantis' newest endorsements are fake too.
And what DeSantis recorded tells you exactly where Florida power is going to live long after he's gone.
The Governor Got in the Booth
Ron DeSantis sat down and recorded two robocalls himself – for two county commission seats in St. Johns County.
"Hello, this is Governor Ron DeSantis," he said.
Thirty seconds for Heather Brofford in District 2.
Thirty-two seconds for Sam Williams in District 4.
Five days before a primary that could hinge on a few thousand votes.
Governors endorse local candidates constantly.
A staffer writes the script, the party blasts it out, and the governor never touches it.
This was different.
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2087563920693235861?s=20
DeSantis recorded both calls himself – and the activists working against his candidates spent Thursday calling the whole thing a dirty trick.
That's when the irony kicked in hard.
St. Johns County is the one county in Florida where calling an endorsement fake is a pending criminal case.
Commissioners Sarah Arnold and Christian Whitehurst were charged in July with conspiracy for mailing fraudulent voter guides designed to look like official Republican Party endorsements.
The guides were stuffed in envelopes at private sessions, built to mimic the real party mailer, and sent to Republican primary super-voters.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
The board voted 3-2 in July to ask DeSantis to remove them from office.
Arnold and Whitehurst cast the two no votes – by phone, rather than showing up in person.
The Message Inside the Message
Both DeSantis calls open the same way – but close with a detail that says everything.
Brofford's call ends with: "Election Day is August 18th." – a standard turnout push.
Williams' call ends with: "Sam Williams is the true conservative in this race."
That line wasn't for voters.
It was aimed directly at the two Republicans Williams is running against – incumbent Krista Keating-Joseph and attorney James Galloway.
Keating-Joseph is one of the three commissioners who voted to ask DeSantis to clean up her own board in July.
Three weeks later, DeSantis was calling her opponent the real Republican in the race.
That's a pointed message, and everyone in St. Johns County politics knows it.
Northeast Florida Knows What His Voice Is Worth
DeSantis has a history here.
He won his first congressional race in 2012 out of a six-way Republican primary in a district covering Flagler, Putnam, and St. Johns County – then carried the general with 57%.
Northeast Florida is where he was built as a political force, and he knows exactly what his endorsement means in that ZIP code.
Which makes the contrast at the top of the ballot impossible to ignore.
DeSantis has refused to endorse anyone in the Republican primary to replace him as governor – even as Trump backs Byron Donalds and candidates beg for his blessing.
He's sitting out the race that determines his entire legacy.
Then he spent 62 seconds in a studio for two county commission seats.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2089130019113120102?s=20
Here's what most political coverage will miss: every other governor on his way out the door is angling for his next act – a Senate run, a cabinet post, a spot on the speaking circuit.
DeSantis is investing in county commissioners.
That's not a man wrapping up his career – that's a man who understands something most politicians never figure out: real power in America isn't built in Washington.
It's built in the places where decisions get made about your roads, your schools, your neighborhoods – and who gets to sit at that table.
DeSantis spent eight years turning Florida into the country's most successful conservative state.
He's spending his last months making sure the people who run it county by county are his people.
The Left can win the governor's race and still lose Florida if the commission seats belong to conservatives.
That's the long game – and 62 seconds of his voice just told you he's playing it.
Sources:
- Peter Schorsch, "Ron DeSantis endorses Heather Brofford, Sam Williams – and St. Johns County liberals lose their minds," Florida Politics, August 15, 2026.
- Selim Algar, "DeSantis endorses Brofford, Williams in bruising St. Johns County Commission races," St. Johns Citizen, August 14, 2026.
- "Republican Party of Florida Executive Director confirms DeSantis endorsements in County Commissioner races," St. Johns Citizen, August 15, 2026.
- "Fake voter guide that roiled St. Johns County GOP leads to criminal charges," Florida Politics, July 7, 2026.
- "Ron DeSantis closes door on gubernatorial endorsement before GOP Primary," Florida Politics, August 6, 2026.
