DeSantis appeals to voters in Nevada speech: ‘We need to restore sanity’

Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for a return to “sanity” in America and once again took aim at “woke ideology” during a campaign stop in Nevada on Saturday.

“We need to restore sanity in this country,” DeSantis said, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal. “We need to restore a sense of normalcy to our communities. We need to make sure our institutions have integrity.”

The Florida governor criticized “the dumpster fire of woke ideology” in Democrat-led cities, suggesting that the U.S. is “off the rails” and “insanity is reigning supreme,” The Associated Press reported.

“This country is in decline,” he added, according to The Nevada Independent. “But I don’t think that decline is inevitable. I think it’s a choice. It’s a choice we as Americans will make over these next 18 months.”

DeSantis paid a visit to the annual Basque Fry event in Gardnerville, Nev., on Saturday, hosted by former Nevada Senate candidate Adam Laxalt. Laxalt, a longtime friend and former roommate of DeSantis, is now serving as chairman of the pro-DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down.

The Florida governor is so far the only Republican candidate in an increasingly crowded field to make a dent against former President Trump in the national polls. He remains significantly behind the former president, however.

A recent Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey found that 59 percent of Republican voters said they would vote for Trump in the GOP primary, while 14 percent said they would back DeSantis.