by Brandon Goldman @realbgold
With just over one year until the presidential election, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has solidified himself as the number two candidate on the Republican side. In a Republican race dominated by President Trump, DeSantis has been steadily losing support since March of this year, currently sitting around 12.6% in the national polls.
The first major contest of the election cycle is the Iowa Caucus on January 15, in which DeSantis is currently tied for second with former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, both down 31.5 points on Donald Trump. With President Trump’s massive lead in Iowa, the rest of the Republican field is looking to claim an initial victory in the caucus to show they can put up a fight against Goliath.
After a $15 million fundraising haul over the summer, the DeSantis team has made a massive TV ad buy in Iowa. In addition, the campaign has been shifting much of its staff to the Hawkeye State from Florida.
However, according to NBC News, DeSantis only has around $5 million cash on hand, while Trump’s war chest is around $36 million.
DeSantis has been betting on Iowa voters to view him as a proven conservative leader and the most viable candidate to beat President Biden in a general election. He has additionally claimed to be the only candidate in the race planning to visit all 99 counties in Iowa, a goal he is close to achieving, having already been to 82 as of the end of October.
In another effort to gin up support for his campaign, DeSantis is planning to participate in a 90-minute televised debate with California Governor Gavin Newsom. The debate will be moderated by Sean Hannity of Fox News and will set up a stark contrast between one of America’s prominent conservative governors and his liberal counterpart.
Of course, the elephants in the room of the Republican race are the 91 criminal charges against Donald Trump, in addition to the many civil lawsuits he is involved in. Despite having no negative impact on the former president’s popular support, Ron DeSantis could be waiting in the wings if Trump were to be found guilty in any of his legal cases, potentially landing him in prison.
Although Donald Trump would not be disqualified from the race if he was convicted, DeSantis could, in that case, make a stronger case for himself as a more viable candidate. In fact, we are already beginning to see efforts to bar Trump from the ballot in Colorado, which would leave the Florida governor as Republican’s backup choice in the case of such an unprecedented move from the state.
At this point in a presidential race, it is an extremely difficult task to overcome the challenges the DeSantis campaign faces. With President Trump’s commanding lead and DeSantis running low on campaign funds, Iowa remains a must-win to gain back some traction.
In the case of a primary loss, DeSantis will remain the Florida governor until January of 2027.