Last Sunday, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) slammed California Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) for his failed policies in the Golden State. DeSantis compared Florida’s record with those of states like California or Illinois, mentioning that “if you look over the last four years, we’ve witnessed a great American exodus from states governed by leftist politicians imposing leftist ideology and delivering poor results, and you’ve seen massive gains in states like Florida.”

The Florida Governor’s trip to California is part of DeSantis’ tour promoting his new book, “The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival,” which, according to The Wall Street Journal, has already hit No. 1 on Amazon’s Top 100 books. Before starting his speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, DeSantis joked that he visited California since Newsom seems “concerned” with Florida.

The book serves as both an autobiography of DeSantis as well as an outlining of his record as both a congressman and governor of Florida. It has been noted that the book reads as a traditional pre-presidential campaign memoir and has been criticized for allegedly avoiding divisive issues or not detailing DeSantis’ foreign policy views more fully. Regardless, according to National Review, DeSantis’ book is expected to outsell both former presidents Trump and Obama’s books in its first week after release. This shows immense interest in Ron DeSantis and his governing record.

Moreover, there has been rampant speculation about DeSantis’ book tour. Some argue that the locations and states DeSantis has visited hit many of the necessary elements of a run for the White House. All the signs and moves DeSantis has been making seem to point in that direction, which has led Politico to state that “The Ron DeSantis pre-campaign is here.”

As such, the trip to California might serve DeSantis’ nascent presidential campaign since some reporting has speculated that in the event of a problematic primary between DeSantis and President Donald Trump, the California primary would be crucial in determining who would be the Republican Party nominee. So far, polling has fluctuated depending on the moment and the state between Trump and DeSantis, indicating a competitive primary between the two candidates.

Nonetheless, if DeSantis were to run, it is expected that he would first want to finish the Florida legislative session and cement his conservative legislative and policy achievements. For example, some items pending in the next legislative session would be expanding the Parental Rights in Education or banning universities from spending funds on programs linked to programs that promote diversity, equity inclusion, and critical race theory. In short, based on his policy triumphs, governing record, and a broad coalition with impressive electoral support, it is no wonder DeSantis has attracted so much attention.