Yes, Ducey is running for Senate in 2024 and DeSantis is running for president in the same year.
And both are doing so on the backs of dead people.
From Merriam-Webster -
From the Tampa Bay Times -
Gov. Ron DeSantis State of the State address: ‘We were right and they were wrong’
Gov. Ron DeSantis had a simple message to Floridians during his address to state lawmakers on Tuesday.
“We were right,” he said, “and they were wrong.”
Celebrating a booming economy and riding high in the polls during his run for reelection, DeSantis echoed his talking points over the last year during his State of the State address to state lawmakers on Tuesday.
62000+ people, and their friends and families, may disagree with him.
From Johns Hopkins University -
DeSantis lies about Covid. A lot.
From Columbia University -
COVID-19 Data Misrepresented by Florida Governor
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that the Florida Department of Health had commenced an inquiry into the state’s reporting of COVID-19 deaths, after Governor Ron DeSantis suggested that the official reports overstate the number of deaths. According to the report, Governor DeSantis and members of his staff repeatedly questioned the accuracy of the COVID-19 death rates, with his press secretary Fred Piccolo Jr. tweeting: "we can tell you definitively that Florida is counting deaths that were not directly caused by COVID-19.” Mr. Piccolo has also sought to downplay the COVID-19 pandemic in other ways. On one occasion, he erroneously tweeted: “we had one COVID death in Florida yesterday . . yes you read that right. One.” In fact, on the day in question, there were 47 deaths.
Ducey of AZ did much the same thing in his own State of the State address.
From KTAR -
Arizona Gov. Ducey promises busy 2022 with focus on education, border in State of State address
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey promised a busy 2022 and focused on improvements in education and border security during his eighth and final State of the State address on Monday.
Ducey, a Republican, spoke at the House of Representatives to kick off his final legislative session as governor and ahead of unveiling the 2022 budget on Friday.
“For those who think it’s going to be a quiet year on the Ninth Floor, you haven’t been paying attention,” Ducey said during his speech. “And as I stand here today, the job isn’t done. The goodbyes will come later, much later.
[snip]
Ducey spoke heavily on the state of education in Arizona, singling out the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and reiterating schools would remain open for in-person learning.
He vowed to open free summer camps in June aimed at catching up students in math, reading and American civics.
The governor also said critical race theory wouldn’t be taught in schools, six months after he signed a bill banning state or local governments from requiring training in the area.
From Ducey's press release on the matter of his speech -
From his speech -
[snip]
But still, there’s no denying what’s happening on a national level is straining families and seniors’ checkbooks. Washington’s spending spree, combined with mismanagement of COVID, has broken our supply chain and inflated the cost of everything. A staggering surge of 6.8 percent – food, clothing, gas, prescription drugs. The largest increase in the cost of daily life in nearly four decades. A White House in denial it’s even occurring. And a President hell bent on printing and borrowing money while raising taxes. This is not a strategy that will help working people.
When all else fails, blame others.
Yet Ducey should shoulder the blame himself.
From Katherine Davis-Young at the AZMirror in 2020 -
The pandemic has been devastating for many businesses, especially those that have been made to close their doors. And lawmakers have been in the difficult position of having to decide when to require businesses to shut down. Arizona had a set of benchmarks for making these decisions, but the state’s health department recently changed its own rules, effectively ruling out any future closures, regardless of how high virus numbers rise.
In June, COVID-19 was surging in Arizona. The state’s outbreak was among the worst in the world. Gov. Doug Ducey took action. On June 17, Ducey allowed cities and counties to issue mask mandates. On June 29, he ordered bars, gyms, movie theaters, and water parks to close. The policy actions appeared to work. Cases fell dramatically.
In August, when Arizona's outbreak appeared to be stabilizing, Ducey announced a set of rules for allowing businesses to reopen. He based his plan around the state’s virus data.
[snip]
But a COVID-19 report from the Department of Health Services released Friday included an unannounced change to the benchmarks. The document shows there's now no difference between moderate transmission business guidelines and substantial transmission rules. The change eliminates any level of virus spread that would require closures of any business other than some bars and nightclubs.
Even though Arizona is seeing higher caseloads than it was when the benchmarks were created, Christ said the state’s rules were really never meant to be used to decide when businesses should close.
From Johns Hopkins University -
Of course, lying about Covid isn't a concept that Ducey (or DeSantis) invented; Cheeto may have perfected it. From The Atlantic in 2020 -
All the President’s Lies About the Coronavirus
An unfinished compendium of Trump’s overwhelming dishonesty during a national emergency
President Donald Trump has repeatedly lied about the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s preparation for this once-in-a-generation crisis.
Here, a collection of the biggest lies he’s told as the nation endures a public-health and economic calamity. This post will be updated as needed.
Still, as bad as DeSantis' lies were, Ducey's may be worse. Florida has approximately 3X the population of Arizona, yet only 2.5X the Covid deaths.
From the U.S. Census Bureau -
