DeSantis embraced the Trump endorsement, and The Palm Beach Post would go on to describe his gubernatorial bid as a "Trump-themed campaign."
Donald Trump Jr. appeared at at rally with DeSantis in central Florida ahead of the primary election, as did Trump himself.
And Casey DeSantis appeared in a campaign ad for the first time.
She cut a humorous ad that aimed to showcase DeSantis as husband and father, while hammering home to voters that Trump had given the congressman his blessing.
"Everyone knows my husband, Ron DeSantis, is endorsed by President Trump, but he's also an amazing dad," she said. "Ron loves playing with the kids." The camera cut to Ron playing blocks with his daughter Madison and saying, "Build the wall," then reading to his infant son, Mason, from "The Art of the Deal."
"People say Ron's all Trump," Casey concluded. "But he's so much more."
Ron told Dagen McDowell on Fox Business Network that he saw the ad as a way to introduce voters to his children and to Casey DeSantis, whom he called "my best friend and best supporter."
As Insider reported in November, the spot was designed to do what Trump himself did best: enrapture, enrage, grab some headlines, and trigger the libs. It worked.
"Ron DeSantis has released an ad indoctrinating his children into Trumpism" read the Guardian headline. HuffPost called it "creepy," and even the libertarian bastion Reason labeled it "cringeworthy."
But by now, most Americans have heard how the story of the primary ends. Trump's endorsement allowed DeSantis to build a campaign around the president's backing. Putnam started the race with a double-digit lead, and his allies hammered DeSantis with tens of millions in negative ads.
It didn't matter, DeSantis saw a surge in the polls after Trump's backing. In the end, DeSantis blew out Putnam by a 20-point margin.
"Such a fantastic win for Ron DeSantis and the people of the Great State of Florida," Trump tweeted. "Ron will be a fantastic Governor. On to November!"