Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) lack of traction in the Republican primary is undermining his support and sway in Florida politics as his White House bid is widely anticipated to “end in failure,” according to a report.
Politico reported on DeSantis’s influence problem in the Sunshine State on Friday, citing interviews with dozens involved in the state’s politics:
Interviews with nearly two dozen lobbyists, political consultants and lawmakers revealed that DeSantis’ struggles as a presidential candidate have already eroded his influence in Florida. There is a widespread expectation that his candidacy will end in failure. His standing at home may depend on how long he slogs forward in the presidential campaign — and how he will manage his exit from the race if he eventually drops out.
DeSantis and the legislature have had a productive working relationship, with the governor lauding the Republican-controlled state house at the end of this year’s legislative session in March.
“I don’t know that there was any meat left on the bone after this legislative session. If you look on issue after issue, we jointly work together to tackle this stuff head-on,” he said.
However, despite tackling agenda items like parent’s rights, tax cuts, and protecting children from racial and gender ideology and mutilation, the relationship is strained, with some Republican lawmakers burnt out by his style, per the report. The legislature is seemingly welcoming his sustained collapse to spill over into the Sunshine State, said one person who Politico describes as “[a] major lobbyist in Tallahassee.”
“There’s no love lost between the Legislature and DeSantis. … They are faking it,” the source said. “They are waiting long enough to see the king drained of all his power. It’s a slow-motion coup.”
Another anonymous source, who is a veteran strategist in the Sunshine State, told the publication that expectations had changed among workers within the DeSantis campaign.
“You don’t get the assumption they are measuring drapes anymore — they are waiting for him to drop out,” the source said.
The report comes on the heels of the Republican Party of Florida’s decision to rescind its loyalty oath that candidates were required to take to get on the ballot, as Breitbart News noted. While DeSantis supported the measure, which was nixed on September 15, Trump had questioned why he would sign it.
“Why would I sign it?” he asked Newsmax. “I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president. So right there, there’s a problem.”
In this July 31, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis during a rally in Tampa, FL. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)
DeSantis, who barely hits double digits in Real Clear Politics’s (RCP) Republican primary national polling average as of Friday night, has seen a precipitous drop-off in support since the early spring when he was widely believed among political pundits to become former President Donald Trump’s top competitor in the primary.
For example, on March 31, before he was declared candidate, DeSantis’s average support in Republican primary polls pinged at 30.1 percent on RCP, placing him about 16 points behind Trump at 45.9 percent. Now, he registers at 12.7 percent on average, while Trump has ascended to nearly 57.9 percent, representing a 45-point gap between the two that is three times larger than at the end of March.
In that time, DeSantis has officially announced his presidential campaign and has had an ongoing legal battle with Disney, while Trump was indicted four times, including in two federal cases, as well as one case in New York and another in Georgia.
In a New Hampshire CNN poll published on Wednesday, DeSantis landed in fifth place, his worst showing yet in a state or national poll. He holds ten percent of backing, placing him behind Trump (39 percent), political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy (13 percent), former Govs. Nikki Haley (R-SC) (12 percent), and Chris Christie (R-NJ) (11 percent), as Breitbart News noted.
The poll sampled 2,107 Granite State panel members from September 14-18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
