Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis touted his state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic after he did not issue sweeping lockdowns during the first day of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). “Florida got right. The lockdown states got it wrong,” DeSantis, a Republican, said at the Florida-based event on Friday morning, kicking off the three-day event that is slated to end Sunday. Since the start of the pandemic last year, Florida did not issue economic lockdowns and did not place strict gathering limits—in contrast to states such as California, Michigan, or Pennsylvania. As a result, Florida has seen an influx of new residents who ostensibly are fleeing their home states due to the lockdown orders. While DeSantis has been skewered by mainstream news outlets and some Democratic elected officials, both California and Florida have similar per capita rates of COVID-19 cases. California—which has implemented numerous lockdowns since last summer—has about 8,900 …