CBS4's Jim DeFede takes a look back at 2022's year in politics
MIAMI - Without question, the biggest political story of 2022 was the landslide victory of Governor Ron DeSantis.
He won by more than 1.5 million votes over his opponent Charlie Crist.
"We not only won the election," DeSantis said on Election Night, "we have rewritten the political map."
He turned Miami Dade County red for the first time in 20 years.
"Thank you, Miami Dade County."
He even turned Palm Beach County Republican.
"Thank you, Palm Beach County."
And in doing so, he left no doubt that Florida is no longer a swing state or a purple state but a red state.
And he also propelled himself into the national discussion as a presidential contender in 2024.
Amid chants of two more years – DeSantis could only smile as others push his name forward as the person in the best position to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.
"DeFuture" was the headline in the New York Post.
Of course, the former President unveiled his own nickname for the Florida governor this year: "Ron DeSanctimonious."
But it wasn't just DeSantis who won big on election night, Marco Rubio was re-elected to a third term in the United States Senate, as he handily defeated former Congresswoman Val Demings.
Republicans won in every corner of the state and in the Legislature, Republicans now have supermajorities in both the state House and Senate – meaning they have unchecked power to write laws in Tallahassee.
Locally, we saw DeSantis's power reach into school boards – removing members of the Broward school board.
But it wasn't all good news for Republicans.
As the year drew to a close, former Congressman David Rivera was arrested, accused of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and failing to register as a foreign agent after landing a $50 million contract representing the despotic regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.
The Rivera arrest brought renewed attention on his relationship to Rubio.
"The truth of the matter is that has nothing to do with me," Rubio told CBS Miami in August before the indictment was announced.
But it is now clear it did have something to do with Rubio.
As the indictment alleges, Rivera used his relationship with Rubio to land the contract with the socialist government and Rubio had two meetings with Rivera, including one with an assortment of Venezuelan characters to discuss improving relations with Venezuela.
In other arrests, the sponsor of the so-called Don't Say Gay Bill – state Rep. Joe Harding from North Florida - was arrested by federal prosecutors for allegedly stealing $150,000 in pandemic relief money proving once again that in Florida irony abounds.
This year saw the retirement of Congressman Ted Deutch, who left congress to become the head of the American Jewish Committee.
Jared Moscowitz won the race to replace him, while the rest of the South Florida delegation all sailed to re-election.
And as the New York Post so deftly described: A Florida Man made an announcement earlier this year – with President Donald Trump formally declaring he was running for President.
"I didn't need this," Trump declared at his formal announcement in Mara a Lago.
"I had a very nice, easy life. It's. This is something I didn't need. And a lot of you people don't need either. But we love our country, and we have to take care of our country. We have to save our country."
A few days later he called for throwing out parts of the constitution and having himself installed as President.
