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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is warning Republicans that the Tennessee special election exposed a turnout problem that could affectthe 2026 midterms.
He said President Donald Trump expanded the Republican Party but also attracted a group of voters outside its traditional base. DeSantis said those voters come out when Trump is on the ballot but may stay home when he isn't.
The tighter-than-expected Nashville race underscored Republicans' concerns about whether Trump voters will show up when the president is no longer a candidate. DeSantis' warning comes as Republicans work to hold slim congressional majorities heading into 2026.
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"Republicans have an issue that Donald Trump has created a big pool of voters, but some of them are unique to him," DeSantis said Friday on "Fox & Friends."
"They will go vote for Trump, and they'll vote for all the Republicans when Trump's on the ballot. But if he's not on the ballot, some of them don't vote," he added.
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DeSantis said that if Republicans want to keep these Trump-aligned voters, they need to take bolder, more decisive action that clearly contrasts their agenda with Democrats' policies.
"I just think you [got to] be bold. I think you [got to] be strong," he said, comparing the strategy to flying a "banner of bold colors, not pale pastels."
DeSantis said that while some political moves, like immigration, have resonated with many Americans, some may feel lawmakers haven't done enough while in office. He urged his GOP colleagues to do more.
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"One of the frustrations with the Congress is, what have they done since August?" DeSantis asked.
He also called for a stronger focus on the economy and parents' rights - issues he said helped drive his own landslide win in 2022. DeSantis credited that victory in part to "sticking it to the left every single day" and drawing sharp ideological lines.
"Think about why we've been able to win big in Florida, it's because there's a very sharp contrast to what we're doing and what the liberal Democrats stand for," DeSantis said.
His comments come after the Tennessee special election between Democrat Aftyn Behn and Republican Matt Van Epps. Van Epps won in deep-red Tennessee, but some Republicans have expressed concern that his nine-point margin was tighter than expected.
