Editorial: DeSantis’ campaign should pick up security costs when he’s stumping

Gov. Ron DeSantis returns to familiar territory Friday in New Hampshire for a Republican dinner in Nashua, with weekend stops in the cities of Newport and Manchester, as he seeks to regain momentum days before the campaign’s first crucial debate next week.

Traveling with DeSantis, as usual, will be a group of agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).

It’s bad enough that DeSantis is shirking his duty as governor to indulge his political ambitions. But Florida taxpayers are paying astronomical costs for security and transportation even as one poll shows DeSantis slipping to No. 3 in New Hampshire, behind Donald Trump and Chris Christie.

For the first time, a picture is emerging of the price tag for all that travel and security. In an annual report, FDLE said it spent $9.4 million in the past year alone for salaries of agents and transportation and other expenses for the governor’s security detail — an increase of 55% in one year.

About two-thirds of that money paid for agents’ salaries. The other third was for transportation and related costs, according to the annual Report of Transportation and Protective Services. The costs, for the year that ended June 30, also include security for First Lady Casey DeSantis, their three children and the grounds of the first family’s official residence, the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee.

Full-time security, 24/7

By law, FDLE “shall provide and maintain the security of the governor, the governor’s immediate family and the governor’s office and mansion and the grounds thereof.” DeSantis is accompanied by armed agents at all times — at fundraisers, book promotion appearances, on airplanes, even when he’s playing golf.

Obviously, keeping the governor and his family safe is a clear and appropriate priority for the FDLE. But as DeSantis shifts to a full-time presidential candidate who’s spending more and more time out of state, this coast-to-coast joyride is getting very expensive.

The high cost of DeSantis’ security confirms what has long been suspected: The protective operations section, or POS in the state’s premier law enforcement agency, is increasingly a burden to taxpayers. The answer to that is not to roll back protections. But it is appropriate for DeSantis’ campaign — which, despite a recent plummet in contributions, is still sitting on a war chest stuffed with cash — to reimburse the state for political costs not directly related to his responsibilities as governor.

There’s precedent for it. Former Gov. Rick Scott, questioned in 2015 about the use of state-owned cars on his re-election campaign, reimbursed taxpayers for $90,000 of expenses. “We properly reimbursed the state,” a Scott aide told the Tampa Bay Times.

A fiscally responsible Legislature would scrutinize these costs and demand answers from FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass.

As we noted recently, seven FDLE agents were escorting DeSantis to a fundraiser in Tennessee on July 25 when his state-rented GMC Yukon sport utility vehicle and three other cars in the same caravan were involved in a chain-reaction collision on I-75 in Chattanooga. No one was seriously injured.

Seven agents were in the caravan, and all seven are named in a police report. Several more agents were in place at the event. (How many agents would FDLE send to a crime scene?) Starting pay for an agent is $50,000 a year, and many earn much more than that.

A security scare

Again, we fully agree that FDLE has a solemn responsibility to keep the governor safe at all times, in an increasingly hostile and tense political environment. In fact, we find it disturbing that this lavishly funded security detail could not prevent two women from charging directly at DeSantis on the stage of a New Hampshire hotel ballroom in April.

The two women waved a banner and chanted “Jews against DeSantis! Jews against DeSantis!” They got close enough to touch the governor — a major breach of security protocols that could have had catastrophic consequences.

As C-SPAN’s complete and unedited videotape of the event shows, FDLE agents were stationed at each end of the stage and another agent appeared to be seated at the governor’s table a few feet away. But they all failed to intercept the two protesters.

At least six agents and members of a private DeSantis security detail quickly ushered the women away, as the governor appeared mildly amused by the surprise interruption. But there was nothing funny about it, and FDLE has never explained of how the security lapse happened — even as the cost of DeSantis’ security skyrocketed.

As the news site City & State has reported, DeSantis’ extensive political travels have taken him to at least 18 states in recent months. He has many more miles to go before his race for the White House ends one way or the other. Regardless of how it ends, it’s costing Florida taxpayers way too much.

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board includes Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson, Opinion Editor Krys Fluker and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writer Martin Dyckman and Anderson. Send us letters at insight@orlandosentinel.com.