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Who is Jeanette Núñez?: On the front line after DeSantis' candidacy for the White House

The Cuban-American and lieutenant governor of Florida assured that Ron DeSantis will continue to govern, but admitted that he will surely have to assume more responsibilities in the coming months, while his boss focuses attention on his race for the White House.

La cubanoamericana Jeanette Núñez, vicegobernadora de Florida © Wikipedia
Cuban-American Jeanette Núñez, lieutenant governor of Florida Photo © Wikipedia

With the governor of FloridaRon DeSantis officially launchedin his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in 2024, there are many who wonder what will happen to the Government of Florida if the Republican gets the support of his people for the next elections.

Interviewed about it, the lieutenant governor of Florida, the Cuban-AmericanJeanette Núñez, assured that DeSantis will continue to govern, but admitted that she will surely have to take on more responsibilities in the coming months, while her boss focuses attention on his race for the White House.

“Well, make no mistake,” Núñez said this Thursday, according towptv.com. "He's still governor of the great state of Florida. He'll still be very involved to make sure he oversees everything we need to do here."

According to the Republican,elected as Florida's first female lieutenant governor in 2018, DeSantis will continue to lead the government, but she will have to assume responsibilities when the candidate leaves to participate in campaign events, especially during the fall, when the final stretch of the campaign begins.

"I'll probably look to get more involved in legislative priorities as we get them underway," Núñez said. "But again, nothing is going to change from the standpoint that everything will be fine in Florida. No one should panic. The governor is still very focused on Florida, but he has a tremendous amount of energy, passion and vigor. "So, I think he'll do well."

By law, in the United States, when the governor of a state aspires to be a presidential candidate for a party, he or she must resign from office. However, just a few weeks ago, the Florida State Legislature approved a law promoted by DeSantis, allowing him to continue serving as governor while campaigning for the White House.

If he is not elected president in the 2024 elections, DeSantis would then continue as governor of the State.

Republican Núñez, born and raised in Miami to Cuban parents, served in the Florida House for eight years before becoming lieutenant governor under DeSantis. Asked about Núñez's role from now on, DeSantis indicated that the lieutenant governor would “take the reins.”

"She's done a great job. She's been with us on all these different issues, so I would see continuity in the governor's office," DeSantis said. This Thursday, Núñez reaffirmed continuity and called on Floridians to "rest easy knowing that he has trusted me, and selected me to be his lieutenant governor, not once, but twice."

Núñez, 47, attended Florida International University (FIU), where he earned his bachelor's degree in political science and international relations in 1994 and his master's degree in public administration in 1998.

Daughter of a Cuban coupleVictor C. Sanchez andTeresita Sanchez, Núñez has two sisters. “I couldn't be what I am, I wouldn't have been able to achieve absolutely anything, if it hadn't been for my family. I owe everything to them,” said the Republican politician in November 2020,following the death of his father.

Núñez worked for Florida International University as an adjunct professor and advisor; She was vice president of government affairs at Jackson Health System, and vice president of external affairs at Kendall Regional Medical Center and Aventura Hospital & Medical Center.

Upon completing his university studies, he was an assistant to Senator Alex Díaz de la Portilla. In 1997 she married Adrián Núñez, with whom she has three children.

The politician has been against the promotion of business with Cuba on several occasions. “I think Ron has demonstrated his commitment to ensuring that we, as a state, are not going to do business with Cuba. “We are not going to do business with those who do business with Cuba,” she said in 2018 after her appointment as DeSantis' deputy.

In the 2016 elections Núñez supported the senatorMarco Rubio, who facedDonald Trump in the presidential primaries. At the time, he even tweeted that Trump was “the biggest scammer ever,” a post he later deleted.

Four years later, the lieutenant governor assured thatThe United States would never be a socialist country. During her speech on the second night of the Republican National Convention, in which she shared her personal experience as the daughter of immigrants, Núñez asked voters to join President Trump.

In the spotlight after DeSantis' decision to run for the presidency of the United States, Núñez arouses suspicion among Florida Democrats.

“Now we are going to have a person who makes the day-to-day decisions, and who will implement all of [DeSantis's] political perspectives and care about his legacy,” said the chairwoman of the state Democratic Party,Nikki Fried.

Dissatisfied with the level of responsibility that falls on the lieutenant governor, Fried considered it “unfortunate that we have to deal with a DeSantis 2.0 in the person of Jeanette Núñez.”

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