Following the dismal GOP midterm elections, recent surveys indicate that more US voters are beginning to choose Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over former US President Donald Trump for a 2024 presidential candidacy.
Additionally, Republican members are unsure about who would be best suited to head the party after Trump. Private talks concerning the subject have taken place between donors, operatives, and other 2024 presidential contenders.
A rising number of GOP lawmakers are attempting to take advantage of what they see as their greatest opportunity to defeat the former president.
Gov. Ron DeSantis Garner New Supports Significantly
Trump is increasingly being held responsible for the midterm election results on Tuesday, as the Republican Party failed to seize control of the Senate and achieved only marginal gains in the House. Despite their poor performance in the general election, the former president supported extreme candidates during the primaries.
The unfavorable midterm results and Trump’s defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election have heightened public and private discussion on the prospects for a post-Trump political landscape.
Several of the major donors to the Republican Party are already attempting to support someone besides Trump. Others have also begun to back DeSantis, who has positioned himself as a Trump-lite Republican and received roughly 2% of the vote.
DeSantis, who has established himself as a Trump-lite Republican and defeated Democrat Charlie Crist on Tuesday by over 20 points, has gained a lot of additional support. He was successful in winning Miami-Dade County, a strongly Hispanic and populous county that no GOP governor candidate had been able to take in the previous 20 years.
Other possible GOP presidential contenders, such as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Former Vice President Mike Pence, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, have all started to evaluate their own, future campaigns.
Survey: DeSantis vs. Trump
The most recent survey, which was done a few days after the midterm elections, shows a reversal of the findings from last month, which indicated that more people backed Trump for a 2024 presidential run. In a message released on Thursday, the former president criticized DeSantis for what many saw as a declaration of war on GOP leaders who were plotting to unseat him.
According to surveys, 23% of respondents would choose DeSantis over Trump if he ran for president in 2024. The poll’s finding that 41% of respondents chose neither of the two candidates was notable. Only 8% of Republican voters indicated they favored neither candidate, while 41% said they supported DeSantis and 39% said they chose the former president.
Trump referred to DeSantis as “average” and dubbed the Florida governor “Ron DeSanctimonious”; he also mocked a number of right-wing news organizations that had shown support for DeSantis.
One of the governor’s greatest accomplishments with conservatives was his hands-off approach to the coronavirus outbreak, which the previous president attacked. The DeSantis campaign, on the other hand, has not yet made a statement in response to the former president’s criticism.
It comes after strategist Stephen Lawson, who is based in Georgia, claimed that the Florida governor is unmistakably residing rent-free inside Trump’s head. Lawson pointed out that DeSantis has not spoken a word, but many already think that his victory on Tuesday would only work in his favor.