Ron DeSantis references the conservative rallying song "Rich Men North of Richmond"

The future 2024 Republican hopeful attempts to appeal to the blue-collar working-class American

By Nardos Haile

Staff Writer

Published August 22, 2023 4:34PM (EDT)

Republican U.S. presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at an event hosted by Conservative radio host Erick Erickson on August 18, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Republican U.S. presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at an event hosted by Conservative radio host Erick Erickson on August 18, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Hopeful Republican party nominee, Gov. Ron DeSantis is campaigning using conservative country music's rallying cry "Rich Men North of Richmond" by Oliver Anthony as a way to appeal to his working-class base.

The governor made a pitstop at Fort Walton Beach in his home state of Florida ahead of the first Republican primary debate on Wednesday, Aug. 23. DeSantis was a guest at Never Back Down's debate send-off. 

During DeSantis's speech, the politician rallied his voters and supporters using a viral hit country song to appeal to his base. He said to his supporters that "we are not gonna let any rich men north of Richmond let us spend us into oblivion any longer." 

Conservatives and right-wing personalities have latched onto the controversial new country song "Rich Men North of Richmond" from the unknown Virginia musician, Oliver Anthony. The song has become so popular with the right-wing base that it has even debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. The hit song has 17.5 million U.S. streams and 147,000 downloads sold in the tracking week ending Aug. 17, Billboard reported.

Another right-wing politician Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has also called the song "the anthem of the forgotten Americans who truly support this nation and unfortunately the world with their hard earned tax dollars and incredibly hard work."


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