Florida governor and 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis attends fundraiser in Greenwich
More than a dozen Greenwich residents waved signs and chanted as Gov. DeSantis’s motorcade pulled into former state Sen. Scott Frantz’s home for the fundraiser.
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Florida governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate hopeful Ron DeSantis was in Greenwich Wednesday night for a fundraiser, attracting both supporters and protesters.
More than a dozen Greenwich residents waved signs and chanted as DeSantis’s motorcade pulled into former state Sen. Scott Frantz’s home for the fundraiser.
Greenwich residents say that over the last two years, the town’s politics, including in its schools, have become more in line with DeSantis’s in Florida, where the Parental Rights in Education Bill and measures against Critical Race Theory have passed.
Protesters said hosting a candidate like DeSantis is not indicative of the town they know.
"For the past two years, I've seen signs everywhere: 'Stop Critical Race Theory,' 'Stop pushing these ideas onto our children,'" said resident Brooke Clancy.
"We're seeing book bans. We're seeing a lot of ruffling on the Board of Ed.," said resident Lorelei O'Hagan.
Republican First Selectman Fred Camillo was among those at the fundraiser. He spoke highly of DeSantis’ work on the Florida economy, while not calling it an endorsement.
Camillo said the protesters have every right to be there, but disagreed with what he said was an attempt to have voters shut out certain candidates before listening.
“I think it’s incumbent upon everybody to be more civil. Some of the things I saw this week about this visit were not in keeping with that - that’s not the Greenwich I grew up in," said Camillo.
"Republicans in Greenwich often say that they're not that kind of Republicans. And so, when we start to see some of our major donors like the Frantz family putting their money into very dangerous and radical candidates, it raises a lot of concerns for us,” said O'Hagan.
Camillo spoke highly of DeSantis's work on the economy in Florida but stopped short of full support.
"Tonight was not an endorsement because I haven't decided who I'm going to support. But I want to listen to all. If you're running for national office, you better have a message really that talks to that to that middle," said Camillo.
A poll from Quinnipiac University released Wednesday shows DeSantis at 12% support, down 8% from August.
