There was a lot of buzz about Ron DeSantis following the 2022 Midterms.
However, it’s been a rough start for America’s Governor since announcing his bid for the White House a few months ago.
But now DeSantis supporters may have finally just got the big campaign moment they’ve been waiting for from their candidate of choice.
Ron to the rescue?
The 2022 Midterms didn’t go how the Grand Old Party had hoped or expected.
They lost almost every U.S. Senate race that was considered to be competitive, they had a net loss in gubernatorial races, came up short on ballot initiatives, and barely won the House of Representatives.
However, Ron DeSantis was one of the few bright spots for Republicans.
He faced, possibly, the toughest opponent the Democrats could put up against him – and won in a landslide.
The Governor of Florida also had coattails, carrying Marco Rubio to the Senator’s biggest margin of victory in his career.
And DeSantis’ willingness to fight for a friendly Congressional map in the Sunshine State is mostly responsible for the GOP now enjoying a majority in the People’s Chamber to counter Senate Democrats and the Biden White House.
And America’s Governor accomplished all this while holding, perhaps, the most conservative policy record of any head-of-state in America.
DeSantis took on the tough issues Floridians cared about and used every inch of his power to fight the woke and install traditional family values policies.
For those reasons, late in 2022, calls for DeSantis to take his Florida agenda nationwide grew louder.
And after his state legislature finished its session this year, DeSantis did indeed announce his candidacy for President of the United States.
The knives are out for DeSantis
The move had been long expected, and another man already in the race, former President Donald Trump, started early in the year attacking Florida’s Governor.
And he’s not just getting attacked by the 45th President of the United States.
The rest of the Republicans hoping to top the GOP ticket in 2024 have tried to bring DeSantis down from his perch in second place behind Trump.
The media has been on an all-out mission to stop DeSantis from securing the nomination.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has launched an attack campaign against the Governor of Florida.
And even Vice President Kamala Harris has taken dishonest shots against him.
And numbers suggest DeSantis isn’t doing enough to counter these attacks, as he’s plateaued in the mid-teens in polling and hasn’t been able to put a dent in Trump’s lead over him.
But recently the GOP held its first debate, and while all the talk in the press was about Vivek Ramaswamy’s new rivalries with former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, it was DeSantis who appears to have seized the day.
DeSantis’ Carpe Diem moment?
A new poll from FiveThirtyEight and Ipsos found Republican Primary voters have declared DeSantis the winner of the Milwaukee Debate.
According to the poll, 29% of likely GOP Primary voters say DeSantis had the best performance of the night, despite the surprising lack of time Fox News gave him compared to several of his competitors.
Ramaswamy came in a close second with 26%.
No one else was close.
Haley had the best night of her campaign, but still, only 15% thought she won the evening.
Pence finished fourth with 7%, while Christie and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott tallied 4% each.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who gave out $20 gift cards to anyone who donated $1 to help him earn a spot on the debate stage, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson rounded out the field with just 1% support each.
While Primary voters believe the first GOP debate was DeSantis’ night, it remains to be seen if that will translate into an uptick in the polls and any closing of the gap enjoyed by President Trump.
DeSantis’ debate victory was immediately overshadowed by Trump’s mugshot that went instantly viral.
Important to note, the Democrat Party has decided to protect incumbent President Joe Biden and not even bother putting on Primary debates.
The second GOP debate is scheduled for September 27 and will be held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
