Florida governor says presidential primary will go on: ‘They voted during the Civil War’

“We’re definitely voting. They voted during the Civil War. We’re going to vote,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Tallahassee, Fla., the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

DeSantis’s remarks came the same day Louisiana announced it would postpone its April 4 presidential primary due to concerns over the coronavirus.

“We want to protect the health and safety of all Louisianans by doing our part to prevent the spread of this highly infectious disease,” Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin (R) said.

DeSantis told reporters on Friday that the results of the primaries in Florida are unlikely to change even if voter turnout is lower than expected.

Polls show that former Vice President Joe Biden has a huge lead over his Democratic presidential rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Sunshine State.

President Trump will also be on the ballot, though he is not facing serious competition in the GOP primary. The president has won by landslides in all of the GOP primaries so far this year.

According to the Sun-Sentinel, around 1.7 million Floridians had already voted through mail-in ballots or early voting as of Friday morning.

Under DeSantis’s direction, polling places located in assisted living facilities have been moved elsewhere.

Coronavirus has been shown to be significantly more deadly to older people and people with underlying health conditions.

Florida is one of four states voting Tuesday, along with Illinois, Arizona and Ohio.