A few readers took umbrage the other day with my calling Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis “wacky.” Apparently the latest GOP presidential candidate has a following in northeast Illinois.

Many pointed out that in some areas of the U.S. — like Florida, Texas and Arizona — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is considered wacky. But then isn’t Florida, “the nation’s pace car of dysfunction,” according to Tampa-based author Tim Dorsey?

“The Far Right does indeed like Govs. DeSantis and Abbott,” wrote one reader, “while the Far Left likes our own Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Pritzker backs unions, full on abortion, anti-gun, soft on crime, etc. Some consider that wacky, while others do not.”

Wacky Pritzker’s name has been mentioned as a possible Democrat presidential candidate if President Joe Biden should falter before the party holds its nominating convention in Chicago next year. That would be fine with those who said things like, “Maybe the governors of Arizona, Texas and Florida aren’t as wacky as you make them out to be.”

While several came to the defense of DeSantis, nobody rushed to the wacky side of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to defend his overt wackiness. Abbott, many may recall, is the governor who keeps shipping immigrants from the Lone Star State to Chicago, New York City and Denver.

Despite that, one reader opined: “As wacky as the governors of Arizona, Texas and Florida — in your opinion — are, living conditions there are superior to those in Illinois.” Yup, especially now during the start of Florida’s hurricane season.

My trusty Collegiate Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “wacky” as “funny or amusing in a slightly odd way.” Also, “zany, madcap, quirky.”

Sounds like just about the right labels for Gov. DeSantis, who filed his presidential nominating papers Wednesday and got off to a fractured start with his announcement via Twitter.

After easily winning reelection to a second four-year term, the Republican picked a fight with The Walt Disney Co. The cash cow has been a mainstay in Central Florida since the company’s namesake, a Chicago native, laid the groundwork in the mid-1960s for Disney World and Epcot Center near what had been miles upon miles of orange groves outside Orlando.

Since then, Disney properties have fueled the state’s multibillion-dollar tourism industry and population growth, making Florida the nation’s third most-populated state. During DeSantis’ first gubernatorial term, another million residents moved into the red state, while Disney says it is reassessing its future there.

Then there’s Florida’s “don’t say gay” law and travel advisory issued by LGBTQ+ leaders urging tourists to boycott the Sunshine State. The NAACP issued its own travel advisory, citing legislation surrounding advanced placement African American studies classes and other controversial legislation backed by DeSantis.

The governor, in turn, called the travel advisories “pure stunts.” Of course he would considering what tourism means to Florida.

The Associated Press says more than 137 million travelers visited Florida last year. In 2019, visitors spent $98.8 billion, supporting 1.6 million jobs. Illinois tourism officials can only dream that many tourists would visit our magnificent miles.

The travel advisories led DeSantis ally U.S. Sen. Rick Scott to declare his own warning last week that Florida is, “openly hostile toward socialists, Communists and those that enable them.”

No, that’s not wacky, either. Nor peculiar. That response from a U.S. senator is downright bizarre.

Scott claims his guidance is in direct response to the Biden administration’s “attempts to erase capitalism and the system that has brought prosperity to Florida.” At that, red-baiting Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy did cartwheels in his grave in Appleton.

DeSantis also has deployed more than 1,100 Florida law enforcement agents and National Guard members to Texas’ border with Mexico for a 30-day mission to help fellow GOPster Abbott. Hope those folks aren’t going to be required back home if massive tropical storms descend on the state next month.

Immigration chaos at the Southern Border is expected to a hallmark of the DeSantis presidential primary campaign. “The impacts of Biden’s border crisis are felt by communities across the nation, and the federal government’s abdication of duty undermines the sovereignty of our country and the rule of law,” DeSantis told The Associated Press.

Polling earlier this month showed President Biden falling behind the 44-year-old DeSantis in a head-to-head matchup. The same ABC News/Washington Post poll saw the 80-year-old’s approval rating sink to a new low, mainly because of his age.

Wherever one stands on the DeSantis candidacy or his gubernatorial leadership, one thing is sure: The wacky meter is expected to rise during the coming year.

Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.

sellenews@gmail.com.

Twitter: @sellenews