TAMPA, Fla. — For the nation’s third-largest state, Florida has never been that politically relevant in Washington, D.C.

It’s not crazy to argue that Missouri, Arkansas and Delaware have all had more access to the nation’s highest offices than Florida. The Sunshine State has never had a native elected president. No vice presidents, either. In the quarter-millennium history of the USA, Floridians have been secretary of state for 169 total days. If you count Mark Meadows, who grew up in Brandon, the state has produced one president’s chief of staff.

Then this week happened.

In a series of moves that ranged from expected to astonishing, incoming President Donald Trump appointed Floridians to some of the most important positions the federal government has to offer.

Susie Wiles, a Florida political veteran who ran his 2024 campaign, will be his chief of staff. Sen. Marco Rubio, of the Miami area, is his choice to be secretary of state. U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, from the northeast part of the state, will be Trump’s national security adviser. And Rep. Matt Gaetz, from the Panhandle, is Trump’s pick to run the U.S. Department of Justice as attorney general.

“We are now the third-largest state, and I think we are finally realizing that we’ve been punching under our weight,” said U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean, who represents a Jacksonville-area district in Congress — and who has been an elected Republican for more than two decades.

Neutral observers and those close to Trump say Florida is having a national moment because the soon-to-be president has made it his adopted home. He knows and likes the important Republicans here, and many were among his biggest and earliest supporters, they say. Many of the appointees also have worked with Wiles.

But the moves also reflect how Florida’s political DNA has changed in the era of Trump. The state has shifted far to the right while maintaining some of the populism that has long been at its core. Figures like Gaetz don’t represent traditional conservative values as much as they do an assault on the established order.

What could be more Florida than that?

The Gaetz nomination in particular was so unexpected that it had some pundits speculating Trump must be making it as a sort of political gambit. Robert Kennedy Jr., who routinely spouts false conspiracy theories about vaccines, is Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic U.S. representative from Hawaii, has been criticized by at least one Republican for embracing “actual Russian propaganda.” She’s Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence.

But none of Trump’s picks is more controversial than Gaetz. He has been under investigation by the House Committee on Ethics for months for allegedly having sex with a minor. Could his selection offer a way to make other appointees look more appealing? That’s what some have surmised.

But state Sen. Joe Gruters, one of Trump’s biggest boosters in Florida, said the president isn’t making a head fake with the Gaetz pick. There are no political games happening. He wants Gaetz to be his attorney general.

“The president has a mandate by the American people to go shake things up,” Gruters said. “(Gaetz) is an agent of change just like the president.”

Florida has been churning out polished Republican politicians for about three decades. With near total domination at the statewide level in that time, the state has long had a deep bench of conservative talent.

Many of those Republicans had national ambitions. None came to fruition. Then-Gov. Charlie Crist was rumored to be on the shortlist to be Sen. John McCain’s running mate in 2008. Jeb Bush and Rubio announced runs for president in 2015. Gov. Ron DeSantis did the same eight years later. Even this week, Sen. Rick Scott came up just short in his run for Senate majority leader.

It took Donald Trump’s 2024 victory for the conservative governing project in Florida to truly go national.

Some of Florida’s newfound prominence is attributable to Wiles. She reportedly is close with Rubio, Trump’s secretary of state pick. And she’s bringing aboard numerous top lieutenants from Florida to staff the White House, including incoming deputy for legislative, political and public affairs James Blair. Taylor Budowich, another veteran Florida politico, will serve as deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel.

Some of Florida’s prominence on the Trump team is a matter of timing. With a booming economy and population, Florida would have major political and cultural sway no matter who was in power. But Republicans argue the state’s brand has been uniquely conservative since the COVID-19 pandemic. DeSantis opened businesses and schools before many other states, signaling to the country that Florida is serious about freedom, they argue.

Under DeSantis, major conservative thinkers, businesses and think tanks have flocked to the state.

But no one’s presence here mattered more than Trump’s. The president declared Florida his official residence in 2019.

“Because Trump is here, he actually sees these people and knows these people better than those from other states,” said Aubrey Jewett, the assistant director at the University of Central Florida’s School of Politics, Security and International Affairs. “He has done so much political business from Mar-a-Lago.”

From his home in Palm Beach County, he’s convinced even those initially skeptical of his politics and personality to join the team. Rubio’s political evolution from Trump skeptic to MAGA booster is a prime example.

The all-in-on-Florida approach is not without its risks. Losing a Republican U.S. senator and at least two U.S. representatives narrows Trump’s legislative margin for error. DeSantis will soon appoint a replacement to the Senate, and he’s moving fast to schedule special elections for Gaetz and Waltz’ seats.

But as Jewett noted, Florida is not a swing state anymore. If there’s one thing Republicans likely won’t have to worry about, it’s Rubio, Gaetz or Waltz being replaced by a Democrat.

__________

©2024 Tampa Bay Times. Visit tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.