Florida gubernatorial candidate Paul Renner (R) is continuing to drive home to voters that he's the right man and the right leader to replace Gov. Ron DeSantis and his conservative agenda once he leaves office in January.
"Very simply, people don't want to go backwards," Renner said in an exclusive interview with The Floridian. "They want a leader like DeSantis, and I'm that leader on multiple counts with experience in the military as a naval officer, as a former prosecutor, as a business owner, having private sector experience as a leader of the Florida House and two of the most successful years probably we've ever had for the conservative agenda, and someone who goes to the fight when others wait for the fight to come to them."
Renner served as House Speaker under Gov. DeSantis from 2022 to 2024. He was also a member of the House for nearly a decade, a role he's hoping voters will take into account once they go to the polls in roughly six weeks.
In addition, Renner served in the U.S. Navy during Operation Desert Storm and in the war in Afghanistan. Like Renner, Gov. DeSantis served in the Navy, another pitch Renner is hoping to convince voters on that's the right man for the job. Renner is also a former prosecutor, having earned a law degree from the University of Florida in 1994.
While his public and private sector resume is by and large impressive, Renner still has to defeat U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, and businessman James Fisback for the Republican nomination on Aug. 18.
And if you ask Renner, he stands above the rest.
"If people hear us all in the same room or in a debate, we see over and over again that they say you're far more substantive, you're far more ready, you're focused on the interest of Florida and in a Florida First agenda," Renner said.
Renner recently got a chance to back up that claim against Lt. Gov. Collins and Fishback during a debate with businessman and moderator Patrick Bet-David in front of a live audience in Fort Lauderdale. Rep. Donalds was not present.
Did voters take notice?
If they did, Renner could be the leader to carry Gov. DeSantis's legacy and carry the governor's conservative agenda into 2027. Time will tell if the pitch works.
