No, he wasn’t even on the ballot as he had no GOP challenger and it's not specifically because he’s running against Charlie Crist, though that probably doesn’t hurt. It’s because his unprecedented move in endorsing school board candidates paid off bigtime statewide. Historically 95% of incumbents have won reelection to local non-partisan races in Florida. DeSantis’ endorsements shattered that dynamic and in the process, will lead to a shaking up of schools-boards across the state. 25 of DeSantis’ 30 school board candidates won out outright on Tuesday including flipping four of seven incumbent seats that Florida’s Democratic Party also endorsed. That’s huge for obvious reasons. What’s also huge is what specifically played out in Miami-Dade where two of those endorsed candidates, Roberto Alonzo and Monica Colucci won seats – with Colucci specifically ousting a 24-year incumbent in the process. Having two of DeSantis’ picks on the largest school district board in the state and 4th largest nationally is a game change of sorts. The kind which speaks to the fact that Parental Rights in Education is hugely important to parents and that the energy directed at school boards the past couple of years has legs. Also, that the political conversion of Hispanics towards the right in South Florida in recent years likewise has legs. While turnout was light on Tuesday, the message sent by those who did was loud heading into November.