Experts say the chances of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis making a successful comeback to win the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 are fading.
Now, DeSantis’ best chance of securing the nomination is to win at Iowa — and hopefully that momentum can carry him to the finish line.
He’s already trying to do just that, indulging in more traditional politics by giving a speech on Friday night – which earned him the endorsement of two state officials.
DeSantis, 44, continues to trail former President Donald Trump in most national polls, which have boosted Trump by more than 30 points despite recent indictments criminally charging him with keeping classified documents at his estate in Mar -a-Lago.
The Republican governor has suffered bad press in recent weeks for spending more than $20 million and firing 38 campaign staffers.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is trying to woo Republicans in Iowa as he seeks to rebuild his campaign. He is pictured here speaking at the 2023 Iowa Republican Party Lincoln Dinner on Friday night
Trump is the clear favorite in the 2024 Republican primary race so far with a 36.9% lead over runner-up DeSantis
The Florida governor apparently hopes to repeat the strategy of former senator John McCain in 2008 – who successfully beat former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani for the Republican nomination despite his initial lead in the polls.
In this case, Giuliani said he was skipping the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire to focus on campaigning in swing state Florida instead.
Thanks to those efforts, Giuliani quickly found himself slipping into the Iowa caucuses, while McCain took the lead.
The former Arizona senator won the New Hampshire primary and took a lead in the national polling average he maintained through the Republican National Convention.
DeSantis’ campaign is now hoping a strong showing in Iowa will do the same for him, catapulting him up the polls.
Much like McCain, DeSantis saw his unfavorable rating rise over the spring and summer.
It has gone from 35.6% at the start of the year to 45.5% today, according to policy.
Meanwhile, Trump’s approval ratings have remained relatively constant, data from FiveThirtyEight show.
DeSantis’ campaign apparently hopes a strong showing in Iowa will do the same for him, catapulting him up the polls
He’s been engaging in straight-up politics in recent days, meeting directly with voters
DeSantis is pictured waving to guests at Lincoln’s dinner on Friday night
In an effort to change his rating, DeSantis hit the ground running in Iowa — personally meeting with voters and outlining what he would do if elected.
During a Friday night speech, DeSantis said he wanted to stop the “militarization” of the federal government and pledged to “rip politics out” of the military, the Monks Register reported.
He also took the opportunity to hit out at Vice President Kamala Harris, who criticized DeSantis’ new educational curriculum, which teaches that slaves developed skills.
“We beat the agenda of the left in the state of Florida, so she thinks she can come down and lie about what we’re doing,” DeSantis told the crowd of Republican voters.
“I’m not moving an inch. We will fight back against these people and we will no longer let them take over our schools.
The speech earned him a standing ovation and endorsements from Republican state representatives Bill Gustoff and Dan Gehlbach.
“Lincoln’s dinner showed that the Republicans have a deep bench of great candidates for president in 2024 compared to the train wreck offered by the Democrats. The Iowans will have a tough choice for the caucus,’ Gustoff said in a statement.
“But Governor DeSantis knocked it out of the park in his brief speech filled with a long list of plans to get the country back on track, with a record of accomplishments to show why he’s the only one doing it.”
Gehlbach also said: “Ron DeSantis gave an impressive and energetic speech last night that offered a positive outlook for the future.
“He is ready to get to work from day one, with specific plans for our country.”
He added that the Florida governor “took the time to talk to every person in the room after his speech at the Iowa GOP dinner, way more than any other candidate I’ve seen.”
His Lincoln Dinner speech earned him the endorsements of Iowa State Representatives Bill Gustoff (left) and Dan Gehlbach (right).
Prior to the speech, the Florida governor rode across the state on a bus – sponsored by his linked PAC, “Never Back Down” – taking about President Joe Biden and his family.
“When I’m president, we won’t allow any cocaine in the White House,” he exclaimed as he took the stage at the Revelton Distilling Co. in Osceola on Thursday night.
He made the same proclamation Friday at Smokey Row Coffee in Oskaloosa.
Although there was no evidence that the cocaine found near the crisis room belonged to Biden’s troubled son Hunter, a recovering crack addict, DeSantis linked it to the first son by immediately referencing his own children.
“I have to say that I have a 6, 5 and 3 year old child that my wife and I chase around the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee and so I can’t necessarily promise that there won’t be any problems in the White Maison with them,” he said. “But it’s like marking on the wall. I’ve got the magic eraser. We can handle it.
On Thursday night, DeSantis spoke again about the importance of a “one standard of justice in this country.”
“You know, if Hunter Biden was a Republican he would probably be in jail three years ago and yet he’s now trying to get a plea deal. But that judge actually objected to it, which surprised me,’ he said, referring to Wednesday’s federal court hearing in Delaware, where the deal of the first son’s plea was suspended.
DeSantis toured Iowa this week, taking a lot of beatings against President Joe Biden and his family, but staying clear of former President Donald Trump’s growing legal troubles.
But DeSantis has so far declined to talk about Trump’s legal troubles.
When asked to react to Special Counsel Jack Smith filing a superseding indictment against Trump and another Trump employee, which alleged the ex-president had an aide delete footage of surveillance to erase evidence that could be used in the investigation of the classified documents, DeSantis said. was ‘in the past.’
“Well, we have – we have committed when, if at all,” DeSantis told DailyMail.com, when asked why he wouldn’t touch Trump, who he will have to beat in the GOP primary. if he wants to be president.
