Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign returns to Florida this weekend, but it’s not shaping up to be a happy homecoming as the governor continues to fall further behind Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.
The state GOP’s 2023 Florida Freedom Summit at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee on Saturday is scheduled to include all the major Republican candidates as speakers, meaning DeSantis has a rare opportunity to directly take on his biggest rival knowing that Trump will be waiting in the wings.
But the event comes as DeSantis continues to flounder in the polls, especially in Iowa, where he has focused his campaign seeking an early upset. After state party leaders sided with Trump in September to drop the loyalty pledge for GOP candidates in the Florida primary, DeSantis’ stature at home is diminishing.
“DeSantis won’t be the hero in the room,” said David Jolly, a former Republican congressman from St. Petersburg and co-founder of the Forward Party. “That’s an unusual feeling for the Florida governor … But Donald Trump is the pick of Republicans, and that includes Florida Republicans. And Ron DeSantis knows that. Whether he’s accepted that or not, it’s just a matter of time.”
Iowa, the site of the first presidential caucus in January, was supposed to be DeSantis’ best hope heading into 2024.
But a Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom poll released Monday showed 43% of likely Republican caucus voters in Iowa back Trump as their first choice, an increase from his 42% showing in August.
Instead of gaining ground, DeSantis actually did worse in the new poll, losing 3 points since August and coming in tied with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for second with 16% each. Trump and DeSantis had almost evenly split among independents, but now Trump leads DeSantis among independents 33% to 12%.
“He’s emphasized he was going to go to every county in Iowa, he spent a ton of money in Iowa, he sent most of his…
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