Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) said during a press conference Thursday that Republicans underperformed in the 2022 midterms because they did not focus on delivering for voters.

“You know, we assumed we were going to end up with like, 245 House members, we’re at 222 it looks like, which is a huge underperformance,” DeSantis said. “And so the question is, why did that happen? Because the way these midterms work, someone gets elected to the White House, and then there’s a reaction the other way, that’s what happens almost every two years and especially when people are pessimistic about the direction of the country, have a negative view on Biden, usually those voters are going to want to vote for people that are offering an alternative.”

“And yet some of those voters throughout the country, not in Florida, but throughout the country, even though they disapproved of Biden, even though they disapproved of the direction of the country,” DeSantis said. “They still didn’t want to vote for some of our candidates.”

The governor explained that Republicans did not underperform because the party was divided; he said that Republicans nationwide did not use the same model that Republicans in the state of Florida used, which was focusing on exercising leadership, not bending the knee in politically uncomfortable fights, and taking big challenges and focusing on “producing results,” which “ends up attracting more people to want to be on your team and so that was not something that was happening throughout the rest of the country.”

WATCH:

WATCH: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) explains why Republicans underperformed in the midtermspic.twitter.com/Shd3itkppP

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 2, 2022

TRANSCRIPT:

RON DESANTIS, FLORIDA GOVERNOR (R): Some of my folks were like, ‘Governor, this is not a red wave.’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about? This is not a red wave. This is a 20 point. When have we ever seen that?’ They’re like, ‘No, no, no. Florida is a big win. But the rest of the country, we are not seeing really good performance from a lot of these Republicans.’ They’re like, ‘It doesn’t look like we’re going to be able to win the Senate, the House is going to be very close.’

You know, we assumed we were going to end up with like, 245 House members, we’re at 222 it looks like, which is a huge underperformance. And so, you know, the question is, is, you know, why did that happen? Because the way these midterms work, someone gets elected to the White House, and then there’s a reaction the other way, that’s what happens almost every two years and especially when people are pessimistic about the direction of the country, have a negative view on Biden, usually those voters are going to want to vote for people that are offering an alternative. And yet some of those voters throughout the country, not in Florida, but throughout the country, even though they disapproved of Biden, even though they disapproved of the direction of the country. They still didn’t want to vote, you know, for some of our candidates.

So, I don’t think it’s a question of necessarily being divided as a party, I think it’s like, okay, how do you run and win majorities, and I think what we’ve done in Florida is we’ve shown that we’ve exercised leadership, we’ve not kowtowed, we’ve been willing to take on big interests … producing results, and that ends up attracting more people to want to be on your team — and so that was not something that was happening throughout the rest of the country. But I think that we really showed, I think, how it’s done in the state of Florida, and if you look about how we performed, no governor, Republican, has ever gotten a higher percentage of the vote in Florida history than we got in 2022.

Related: Top Conservative Polling Firm: DeSantis Now More Popular With Trump Voters Than Trump

Editor’s Note: The original image attached to this article was in error, and has been replaced.

A federal judge sentenced a former Florida tax collector to 11 years in prison on Thursday for sex trafficking a 17-year-old female and other criminal offenses.

Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector, was accused of several crimes, including stalking a political opponent, public corruption, creating fake licenses, and plotting to submit false claims for a federal loan.

Greenberg pleaded guilty to six federal crimes, including identity theft, stalking, wire fraud, and conspiracy to bribe a public official.

“Nothing justifies my actions,” Greenberg said before U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell in an Orlando courtroom, according to The Associated Press. “My conduct is so shameful. I feel remorse for what I’ve done.”

Greenberg further issued a list of apologies in court — to the minor, the people of Seminole County, and his parents, children, and ex-wife.

“I deserve punishment no matter how long that may be,” he said, according to The New York Times.

The New York Times reported that Greenberg initially faced up to 30 years in prison for several crimes, including trafficking a 17-year-old girl, stalking a political rival, and stealing $400,000 in taxpayer money to buy cryptocurrencies and sports memorabilia.

However, federal authorities reduced his sentence in exchange for cooperation with the government, which led to investigations of 24 people, including eight for sex crimes.

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who had ties with Greenberg, was probed by federal investigators after allegations were made that he paid for sex with a minor in violation of federal sex trafficking laws.

Gaetz has repeatedly denied the allegations, claiming they were part of an extortion plot from “people at the Department of Justice.”

Sources familiar with the investigation of Gaetz reported last month that prosecutors informed their superiors that they would not be pursuing charges against the representative in connection with a sex-trafficking investigation that has been ongoing since 2020.

Prosecutors argued that the charges would be dropped because Greenberg and another central witness in the case have questionable credibility.

Greenberg, a former associate of Gaetz, allegedly tried to smear the Republican congressman, similar to other accusations he made against politicians.

Judge Presnell said, “He has provided substantial cooperation to the government — more than I’ve seen in 22 years.”

“In 22 years, I’ve never experienced a case like this,” Judge Presnell said. “I have never seen a defendant who has committed so many different types of crimes in such a short period.”

Defense attorney Fritz Scheller said Greenberg’s cooperation brought four federal indictments, with more expected to come soon.

Scheller also reportedly requested to the judge that Greenberg only get a portion of the sentencing, arguing that his client had changed since committing the crimes.

“Mr. Greenberg was using money and sex to get access to political circles,” Scheller said. “He came from a dark place, a lack of self-worth, and tried to ingratiate himself with a collection of people.”

U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida described Greenberg as a “hardened criminal who never did the job he was elected to,” according to The New York Times.

“He was not deterred when he found himself under criminal investigation,” Handberg said, according to The New York Times. “He was not deterred when he was brought into this building.”