Questions surrounding Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019s (R) presidential campaign strategy are multiplying as he continues to trail former President Trump in the polls nearly a month after his highly anticipated campaign launch. <\/p>\n
In a sign of just how concerned some of the governor\u2019s allies are, the spokesperson for the pro-DeSantis PAC Never Back Down recently referred to Trump as the \u201crunaway front-runner\u201d in the primary and said that DeSantis faced an \u201cuphill battle.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, DeSantis\u2019s campaign faced backlash this week after sharing a video attacking Trump over his past comments in support of the LGBTQ+ community, leading some Republicans to raise concerns.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
One Republican strategist described the DeSantis PAC spokesperson\u2019s comments as \u201ca very clear-eyed moment.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cThey realize they\u2019re in a hole,\u201d the strategist told The Hill. \u201cThey realize they can potentially win this and they are the only other game in town, but again, they are in a big hole.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The spokesperson, Steve Cortes, made his headline-grabbing comments Sunday during a Twitter Spaces conversation. <\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, in national polling, we are way behind. I\u2019ll be the first to admit that,\u201d said Cortes, who previously worked as an adviser to Trump. \u201cI believe in being really blunt and really honest. It\u2019s an uphill battle.\u201d <\/p>\n
Cortes emphasized that he still believed DeSantis could win, while also pointing out how Trump\u2019s prior experience could be aiding him. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe former president has debated through two successive presidential cycles, so of course he possesses a lot of experience in that arena,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I am convinced that Governor DeSantis will outperform expectations and inform large audiences about his amazing life, political record, and winning agenda for the presidency.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cTaking on an incumbent or former president in the primary always represents a significant challenge,\u201d Cortes continued. \u201cI gladly embraced that reality in joining the team. All of us on Team DeSantis remain convinced that the governor has a strong path to the nomination, and the best chance of any Republican to defeat Biden in the general election.\u201d <\/p>\n
Still, there are reasons for allies of the governor to be worried. Around the same time Cortes\u2019s comments surfaced, the DeSantis campaign\u2019s \u201cwar room\u201d sparked outrage and confusion with a video attacking Trump over LGBTQ+ rights, including for comments the former president made in support of the community after the deadly Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida in 2016. <\/p>\n
Among those who criticized DeSantis were LGBTQ+ Republicans including Rep. George Santos (N.Y.) and 2024 rivals including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey are looking for anything to garner attention so that they can use that to piggyback so they can spread their message,\u201d said Ford O\u2019Connell, a Florida-based GOP strategist, in response to the video. \u201cIf Trump isn\u2019t taking up the news oxygen, Hunter and Joe Biden are taking up the news oxygen.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Polling shows that after his launch in late May, DeSantis has struggled to gain traction in national and early state-level polling.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The\u00a0Real Clear Politics average of polls\u00a0shows Trump with 52.4 percent support, while DeSantis trails at 21.5 percent support. And\u00a0an Echelon Insights poll\u00a0released Wednesday showed fellow Republican contender Vivek Ramaswamy gaining traction on DeSantis. The poll shows Trump leading the pack at 66 percent, DeSantis at 52 percent and Ramaswamy at 40 percent. In May, Echelon showed Ramaswamy in fourth place behind former Vice President Mike Pence. <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone goes, my God, this Vivek guy is not going to win, but he\u2019s the only guy actually pushing the ideas envelope, and the ideas that he\u2019s pushing is actually reinforcing a lot of what Trump is saying,\u201d O\u2019Connell said.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
But Trump is still DeSantis\u2019s biggest obstacle.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cI will tell you that Trump is in a much stronger position now than he was in 2016,\u201d O\u2019Connell said. \u201cThey recognize that lightning in a bottle is their best chance to win this, so what they need to do is they need to get out there and make sure that everyone knows who Ron is, his biography and what he stands for.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
And DeSantis and his campaign have been focused on getting boots on the ground in the early caucus and primary states, most recently hitting up New Hampshire for the Fourth of July holiday.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cThe rain may have been heavy, but the enthusiasm was high,\u201d DeSantis spokesperson Andrew Romeo said in an email to reporters summing up the campaign stops. \u201cHundreds of Granite Staters turned out to show their support for the governor and his forward-looking vision for a better America.\u201d <\/p>\n
In a statement to The Hill on Wednesday, DeSantis\u2019s campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin described the primary as \u201ca marathon, not a sprint.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cRon DeSantis has been underestimated in every race he has won, and this time will be no different,\u201d Griffin said. \u201cDonald Trump has to explain to Republican voters why he didn\u2019t do the things he is now promising in his first term as president. Governor Ron DeSantis over-delivered on his promises as governor and has the national vision we need to restore our country, clean out DC, and lead our Great American Comeback.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
So far, it appears that DeSantis\u2019s bumpy start hasn\u2019t dissuaded donors from lining up behind him. On Thursday, the campaign announced it had raised $20 million in its first six weeks, though that trailed the more than $35 million Trump\u2019s campaign raised for the second quarter. <\/p>\n
Of course, there\u2019s also the possibility of further shakeups to the race between now and the Iowa caucuses, including the first Republican presidential primary debate, which is set to take place in August.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cI kind of view the first debate as the beginning of the campaign, quite honestly,\u201d said Justin Sayfie, a Florida-based Republican strategist. \u201cThat\u2019s when voters will get to start to view the candidates side by side.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
But it\u2019s unclear whether Trump will even attend the debate, and whether some of the lower-polling candidates will make the stage.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cThe dynamic changes if Trump\u2019s on stage versus not on stage,\u201d Sayfie said. \u201cIt changes if Chris Christie is on stage versus not on stage. We don\u2019t even know those things yet.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
And if the news cycle \u2014 including Trump\u2019s recent indictments \u2014 is indicative of what\u2019s to come, there could be more twists and turns going into next year.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cThe important thing, and I think people recognize this in a primary, is to not peak too soon, and there\u2019s historical references,\u201d Sayfie said. \u201cI remember when John McCain had an event in Miami in 2007, and people were begging me to show up at his fundraiser and not even bring a check.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cHis campaign was literally on life support, and he ended up becoming the Republican nominee,\u201d he added.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
But others have suggested that DeSantis peaked following the midterm elections, when Florida Republicans saw sweeping victories there while Trump-endorsed candidates largely performed poorly in other parts of the country.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cThe mistake they made \u2014 and again, it\u2019s a mistake most people running for a new office make \u2014 they assume people know more about Ron than they actually do,\u201d O\u2019Connell said.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
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Originally posted here: <\/p>\n
Republicans sound alarm over DeSantiss sagging campaign - The Hill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Questions surrounding Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019s (R) presidential campaign strategy are multiplying as he continues to trail former President Trump in the polls nearly a month after his highly anticipated campaign launch. Continue reading