‘Free State of Florida’ welcome signs touting DeSantis motto cost $60K

Florida spent $60,000 on new highway welcome signs that feature a campaign slogan used by Gov. Ron DeSantis in speeches and on merchandise.

Signs welcoming visitors to “The Free State of Florida” now stand at 24 locations along highways and at two welcome centers, said Michael Williams, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, in an email.

Williams did not answer questions about who decided to erect the new signs, which he said were created in-house at a department facility in Lake City. The state disclosed the cost of the signs, which were unveiled in a DOT press conference last week, in response to a public records request from the Orlando Sentinel.

The department was reviewing its messaging and “took the opportunity to offer a refresh of the signage, including now offering ‘Hurry back’ signage as motorists leave Florida,” he wrote.

The signage, he added, was “not unique to Florida as many states choose to offer a friendly message to drivers who are excited and look forward to crossing state lines when they travel.”

Gregory Koger, a political science professor at the University of Miami, said such a politically charged welcome to visitors was unusual.

“I’m certainly not familiar with anything like this,” Koger said. “Most of the road signage I’ve seen is based on ordinary state slogans. Drive into Georgia, and it’s the Peach State. When I drive into Montana, it’s Big Sky Country.”

The phrase “Free State of Florida” dates back to at least 2021, when conservatives began using it to describe DeSantis’ opposition to most COVID-19 restrictions. DeSantis then began using variations of the phrase himself, including in a 2022 speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, in Orlando and in his 2023 inaugural address.

In his 2022 State of the State address, in which he called Florida, “the freest state in the United States,” DeSantis said the state was “the escape hatch for those chafing under authoritarian, arbitrary and seemingly never-ending mandates and restrictions.”

Since then, the phrase has been repeatedly turned into political merchandise, including a $25 “Free State of Florida” Christmas mug available at the DeSantis campaign’s website beginning in 2022 and a “Free State of Florida” flag featuring DeSantis’ face available from the Bay County GOP for a $20 donation.

The new signs are “using the resources of the state to promote Gov. DeSantis’ brand, because it’s a phrase that’s associated with him,” Koger said.

“It’s not surprising,” he added. “He’s been using the resources of the state to promote his brand since he became governor, so it’s a continuation of that pattern. But it’s another piece of evidence that he doesn’t see a line between his own political interests and the best interests, the long-term interests, of the state of Florida.”

Asked about the appropriateness of the slogan on state signs, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez told WFLA Tampa, “We continue to stand by the ‘free state of Florida.’ We believe that we provide freedom. Freedom for the right to life, of course, for those babies. We continue to stand by freedom of opportunity. That’s something the governor prides himself on.”

Ironically, Florida’s state lines were the scene of a COVID-era DeSantis policy at odds with his later stance.

In March 2020, DeSantis ordered a two-week, self-quarantine for anyone arriving in the state from the New York City region, which was experiencing an infectious wave at the time. That included highway checkpoints at the Florida border, many of them near the current “Free State of Florida” signs.