While the move was hailed by conservatives as a strong protest against the Biden administration’s approach to border security, it has sparked a wave of criticism from Democrats and members of Florida’s vast Hispanic community, a politically influential force in the Sunshine State. “With this move, this stunt, he obviously made his base very happy,” said Adelys Ferro, the executive director of the Venezuelan American Caucus. “But there are a lot of people who are more middle-of-the-road and people who are independent who are very disgusted and who reject all of that.” “We are Venezuelan Americans and we vote, and we will vote in November,” he added. “And we’re never going to vote for someone who does that.” The exodus of Texas immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard — and DeSantis’ promise of more to come — has already sparked a flurry of legal activity. A Texas sheriff said Monday that his office will investigate the legality of the flight, while a Florida state lawmaker is preparing to file a lawsuit to stop DeSantis from taking more migrants across the southern border. But whether the migrant flights — which critics call a political stunt — will affect DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential candidate facing re-election this year, remains an open question. On the one hand, the move risks hurting Latino voters, especially in South Florida, a vote-rich part of the state with a huge community of exiles who fled oppressive governments in Latin America. The GOP has strengthened its standing among Latinos in recent years, though strategists on both sides of the aisle say those gains are not set in stone. “I think we have to be careful about taking Hispanics for granted the same way Democrats took them for granted,” said a Republican strategist who has worked on campaigns in Florida. “We’re talking about voters who like Republican policies, but maybe don’t think of themselves as Republicans. They’re still open to hearing the other side.” But the migrant exodus also has the potential to endear DeSantis even more to conservatives ahead of a potential run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. “This is a story that has put him at the forefront of the national conversation for the last two weeks,” said Fernand Amandi, a Miami-based Democratic pollster who helped former President Obama win the state in 2008 and 2012. So from his perspective, since he’s not getting charged, I think he sees it as a good thing.” And as for his re-election bid, DeSantis appears well-positioned to defeat Democratic challenger Charlie Crist, a former congressman and Republican governor of Florida. Not only do polls in this race regularly show DeSantis ahead, but he also has a steep financial advantage. DeSantis has raised more than $130 million for his re-election effort so far. Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist who ran Obama’s campaign in the Sunshine State, also noted that fleeing immigrants isn’t the only controversial move that has paid off politically for DeSantis. Florida’s governor has drawn national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic by taking a laissez-faire approach to the outbreak despite warnings from public health officials. “He made a bet with COVID and it paid off,” Schale said. “In the eyes of the public, it was a successful victory. The lesson here was: He can lean on these divisive issues and he doesn’t pay a fine for it.” Schale said DeSantis and his campaign have already bet that the support of the GOP’s conservative base will be enough to win him a second term in November, and that there is little real political risk in potentially alienating swing voters. “Guys on my end don’t always give him the credit he deserves,” Schale said. “They don’t think they need to win over persuasive voters to win re-election. They made the calculation that they are safe to be in this space.” Ana Navarro, a longtime GOP strategist who co-hosts ABC’s “The View,” agreed with Schale’s assessment that DeSantis is only concerned about reaching the most conservative voters — and that includes Republican voters who defected themselves from repressive foreign governments. “It seems like his game plan is to raise his national profile and showcase as much of his base as possible and not really worry about appealing to those in the middle,” said Navarro, who is based in Miami. “No doubt, most of his base likes what he’s doing, unfortunately, including other Floridians who came to this country fleeing repression, but seem to have forgotten that. I really don’t get it.” A poll from Morning Consult released Wednesday showed that while voters are split on the propriety of sending immigrants to more liberal parts of the country, the tactic is still popular among Republicans. 66% of GOP voters said it is appropriate, while only 19% said it is inappropriate. That’s not to say there couldn’t be consequences for DeSantis. In addition to the criminal investigation being conducted by Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar in Texas, some of the immigrants who were taken from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last week filed a class-action lawsuit in Massachusetts on Tuesday, alleging that DeSantis and other state officials are involved in a “fraudulent and discriminatory system”. The immigrants are seeking unspecified damages in that case. DeSantis is not the only Republican governor who has sent immigrants away from the southern US border and into more Democratic-leaning parts of the country. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (D), who is also running for re-election, has been doing so for months, as has Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (D). But what made DeSantis’ effort even more controversial was the fact that none of the 48 immigrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard had ever set foot in Florida. In addition, the migrants were allegedly misled about their destination. DeSantis defended the move, arguing that illegal immigration is not just an issue for border states to deal with. His administration officials also claimed that the migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard were “homeless, hungry, sleeping outside in parking lots” before making the trip, seeking to put a humanitarian spin on the effort. ‘Crisis emergency’: Los Angeles to make overdose antidote available in K-12 schools Walmart plans to hire 40,000 for the holidays But DeSantis’ critics say there is no moral ambiguity about what the governor did. Ferro, the executive director of the Venezuela American Caucus, accused DeSantis of playing politics with a humanitarian crisis, saying “people — even many Republicans — are saddened and disgusted.” Amandi, the Democratic pollster, also said Republicans he spoke to in the state are not happy. “In their hearts, they know this will have repercussions,” he said.