Just a few months ago, Ron DeSantis was sitting pretty. After a better-than-most (a low bar, to be sure) covid response in Florida, DeSantis was the betting favorite (though very early) for the GOP nomination in 2028. Spats with Disney and the media convinced me that DeSantis had what it took to stand up for himself and explain his thinking in a clear and concise way — a must for today’s GOP candidate. As far as politicians go, DeSantis was impressive. (Again, a low bar)
But then Ron DeSantis made a mistake that may have derailed his political career forever: He ran for president. In 2024.
Unofficially, DeSantis has been in the race far longer than the end of May, and since that ‘unofficial’ speech, his numbers — once roughly equal with Donald Trump’s — have cratered badly.
Today, the DeSantis campaign replaced his campaign manager:
And it turns out this is DeSantis’ THIRD attempt to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, even though his campaign is officially less than three months old:
This is such a drastic turnaround, I’m left wondering what happened. First of all, it seems like political suicide — or at least political shoot-yourself-in-the-foot — to run in 2024 against a popular-in-the-primary ex-president. Part of me wonders if DeSantis had some sort of inside information that Trump would be charged and not be on the ballot in 2024. (Not that the information need be inside — Democrats have clearly telegraphed their desire to prevent Trump from running in 2024, that’s why the word “insurrection” is so important.)
And although this headline is a little misleading (of course everybody agrees Joe Biden is president right now), DeSantis is changing his tune regarding the 2020 election as well:
This is basically worst-case scenario for the GOP primary, in my opinion. Instead of concentrating on election security and the need for it, the candidates are going to get lost in the weeds about stuff that happened in 2020. No matter how you feel about what happened THEN, the important thing to focus on is what to do about it NOW.
Improving our situation at the ballot box is always a hail mary at best, but it will be impossible unless we fix the election process. Bickering like school kids doesn’t help anybody.
What do you guys think? What has led to DeSantis huge drop in the polls? Was it even anything he did, or have Trump’s indictments solidified him at the top of the race? (The “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me” reaction)
And — though it might be far too early to consider — how does this affect DeSantis in 2028? Who else is even on the GOP bench? (Certainly not Christie, Pence, or Will Hurd)
Also, I want to apologize in advance for a very likely decrease in longform posts for a bit. The shoe finally dropped today and my last 100% reliable client is making ‘budget cutbacks’ — meaning I’ve got to spend a bit of time figuring out what I’m going do next. If you’ve been waffling about getting a paid sub — now’s a good day!
And although I feel like the Bernie meme every time I mention paid subs:
It also gives me an excuse to post that Bernie meme, which I find hilarious.
Until next time, Screamers!
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Relevant update: DeSantis drops to 3rd in most recent polling:
https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1689649632195072000
2024 National Republican Primary:
Trump 53% (+42)
Ramaswamy 11%
DeSantis 10%
Pence 7%
Scott 3%
Haley 3%
Christie 2%
Suarez 1%
Hutchinson 0%
Burgum 0%
Binkley 0%
Elder 0%
Johnson 0%
Honestly, I hate "ad hominem" campaign tactics.
Not only do I think DeSants jumped the gun with his candidacy; I am definitely not liking his tone. He's lost my respect.