Global Courant 2023-05-06 02:16:17
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Ron DeSantis’ presidential aspirations needed a boost after months of plummeting polls and a barrage of attacks from Donald Trump.
Enter the Florida legislature.
Republican supermajorities in both the Florida House and Senate gave Florida governor a huge streak of victories focused on culture wars, the kind of policies that helped propel DeSantis through the Republican ecosystem and onto the national stage.
For much of that rise, however, there was a big difference: He didn’t face direct attacks from Trump, the clear front-runner for the Republican nomination in early 2024 and de facto head of the Republican Party.
Those attacks tarnished DeSantis’ once unassailable political reputation among conservatives and put him in arguably the weakest position he’s been in since taking office, just weeks before what most expect will be a presidential launch in early June.
But his supporters predict that the script is about to flip. A Republican legislature that greets DeSantis with equal parts support and fear gave him huge victories in Tallahassee that will now turn into a high-profile victory lap across Florida in the weeks leading up to the expected launch. An almost daily dose of DeSantis back in his element, supporters hope, will help him get back on his feet.
“DeSantis’s ‘Bad Month’ seems much more like a Trump campaign spin repeated by some reporters than the reality in the states that matter,” said Alex Stroman, former executive director of the South Republican Party. Carolina, who met the governor in person last month at the New Hampshire Republican Party’s annual Amos Tuck Dinner. “DeSantis had great visits to New Hampshire and South Carolina, great crowds, and did what he had to do to show his personality.”
DeSantis himself seemed emboldened Friday afternoon when he met with reporters shortly after lawmakers wrapped up the 2023 legislative session, which handed DeSantis nearly every item on his wish list.
For months, DeSantis has mocked questions about his political aspirations. And while he didn’t answer them directly on Friday, for the first time he didn’t meet them with open exasperation and even hinted that something might be coming.
“I think I started being asked about this years ago. But I was in my first term as governor and we did good things,” he said. “A lot of things we did I think put me on the map because I was criticized for it, especially during Covid.”
“What happens in the future, look, folks — we’re getting to that relatively quickly,” he later added. “You have to stop that or keep your mouth shut about it.”
DeSantis won his 2022 reelection bid by a nearly 20-point margin, strengthening him nationally and further solidifying his political mandate in the state. In response, Republican majorities handed him victories this year, including banning children from attending adult-themed drag shows; an extension of the death penalty by the state; a long-sought provision aimed at weakening democratically-oriented public unions; a ban on colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives; a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy; legislation no longer requiring gun owners to be licensed to carry a concealed firearm; and a handful of accounts furthering DeSanti’s years-long battle with Disney.
DeSantis defended each proposal to varying degrees, and each falls easily under the overarching mantra that has defined his political persona: “Florida is where wake goes to die.”
“This is the kind of thing that not only Republican grassroots voters will respond to, but this is the kind of thing that Republicans should have taken care of a long time ago,” said Republican Senator Blaise Ingoglia, who belongs to the DeSantis. biggest proponents of legislation. “If ever there was a portfolio of successes and wins to launch a next step, this is it.”
But as DeSantis prepares for a victory lap, there’s little doubt he has work to do if he hopes to close the gap with Trump. For most of 2022, DeSantis was neck-and-neck with the former president in public polls. But after Trump formally announced he was running for the White House again, he began regularly going after DeSantis, whom he had previously supported, opening up a significant double-digit lead in most early polls.
“What momentum?” said Taylor Budowich, who runs pro-Trump super PAC MAGA, Inc. leads. political commission burns through cash like a thief with a stolen credit card.
DeSantis hasn’t launched a presidential campaign yet, but a super-PAC named Never Back Down has served as an attack dog for him thus far, running ads hyping up his potential run. It has raised tens of millions of dollars to encourage DeSantis to enter the race, but has yet to publicly report, so it’s unclear exactly how much the group has raised. In addition, a state-level political commission known as Friends of Ron DeSantis has more than $85 million in the bank, likely to be turned over to an outside super-PAC in the coming weeks.
DeSantis’ support for the six-week abortion ban, and his focus on culture warfare more broadly, prompted some GOP rainmakers to say they’re reconsidering financially supporting DeSantis, but his team is confident they’ll stop the bleeding with current and potential donors in general. .
“I think you could say they’ve taken the worry out for the most part and it’s moving full steam ahead,” said a Republican adviser. “There are a few holdouts or converts, but it’s safe to say that lack of money won’t be a problem for DeSantis.”
Supporters also brush off DeSantis’ huge lead on early approval, including the former president who earned 11 approvals from the Florida legislative delegation and more than 50 congressional endorsements overall. It’s early, DeSantis supporters argue, with few voters paying attention, and even fewer caring about approvals from sometimes obscure members of Congress.
Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., Florida’s sole supporter to date of DeSantis in Congress, said the governor “has led the way on conservative policies, economic growth and fighting for families in Florida,” and that once he officially runs for president, “his record and message will resonate with Republican primary voters across the country.”
“Government DeSantis is playing the long game. He has methodically built a proven conservative record that, coupled with his ability to not only win elections, but demoralize and destroy the left, will make Republican voters president with a stark contrast in the primary,” said a Republican media strategist from Miami who does. working on national flights.
“At this stage,” he joked, “no one outside of The Swamp cares about an endorsement from Rep. Beavis McButtersworth.”
