U.S. model family: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (44) with wife Casey (42) and children Madison, Mason, and Mamie on election night in Tampa.

DLNews Politics:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is the Republicans' new hero. He could replace Biden in 2024

With these pictures, everyone knew there was more to come: Ron DeSantis (44), re-elected as Florida governor by a 20 percent margin, thanked voters, surrounded by his three young children and wife Casey (42). Who looked like a Hollywood star in a gold ball gown.

The graduate of the elite Yale University and former military lawyer is now the "darling" among the Republicans - a party where more and more want to free themselves from the iron grip of former President Donald Trump (76).

After his Florida triumph on an Election Day that was disappointing for conservatives overall, DeSantis is already seen as a high-potential presidential contender for 2024, a possible successor to aging President Joe Biden (turns 80 next Sunday).

A jolt is going through the party: finally, there seems to be an alternative to the "discontinued model Trump," as is whispered!

"DeFuture" was the headline of the "New York Post."

And Trump? He is fuming. And declared war on his future rival. That usually begins with him with a poisonous nickname: "DeSanctimonious," he mocked the up-and-comer as a "hypocrite."

He faces doom: Many Republicans hope Trump will NOT announce next week that he will run again.

Who is this DeSantis?

He was born in Jacksonville (Florida), has Italian roots (his great-grandparents are from there), and is Catholic. The lawyer became a prosecutor in the Navy, including Guantánamo Bay (Cuba) and Fallujah (Iraq) with the elite SEAL Team One unit. There were three decorations.

2012 start of political career in Congress, 2018 governor of the Sunshine State. An ardent Trump supporter at the time, he showed his kids how to build a wall or say "Make America Great Again" in a TV ad.

His profile: religious and ultraconservative, with plenty of populism. "Mini-Trump," critics mocked, or more kindly, "Trump with a brain."

DeSantis paid $1,000 bonuses to police officers deployed to the George Floyd riots. In addition, he made gun ownership more accessible and had abortions banned after the 15th week of pregnancy.

He recently declared war on the left-wing "Woke" movement, even taking on the Disney corporation. And he had 39 migrants flown to the liberal celebrity island of Martha's Vineyard - as a protest against President Biden's allegedly too lax border security.

He was controversial but successful during Corona: He opened schools as early as the fall of 2020 and quickly ended restaurant restrictions and any mask requirement.

Health experts warned, but Florida's casualty record of 75,000 deaths remained at similar levels of liberal lockdown and masked states like New York or California. Florida's economy prospered, and children were spared online schooling.

DeSantis' key adviser is his wife, Casey, an ex-TV host who survived cancer. She could also bring essential votes in a possible battle for the White House. As DeSantis exclaimed on election night, "I've only begun the fight."