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Ron DeSantis seemed to embody the future of his party. This was particularly true on November 8, 2022: On this election day, the Republicans fell short of expectations in many places. But DeSantis, the governor of Florida, was confirmed in office with a brilliant result.
With his politics of culture war, he seemed to show the party the way. His resistance to the Covid measures, his fight against “wokeism” and a law that restricted teaching about sexual identity made him known across the country.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, was counted out: with him as the driving force, the Republicans no longer seemed capable of winning a national election. In 2022, a number of candidates who were supported by Trump lost elections for important offices.
Failed election campaign
DeSantis, on the other hand, was able to present himself as a doer. As a winner – without the drama, chaos and legal baggage of Trump. It was no surprise that he announced in May 2023 that he wanted to become president. However, the fact that his candidacy did not take off despite a bulging campaign coffers did.
DeSantis launched his candidacy in a live conversation on the social platform X, formerly Twitter. This chaotic start, plagued by technical problems, was symptomatic of the rest of the campaign: US media reported a botched election campaign that was plagued by internal disputes.
And on the national stage, DeSantis proved to be a weak candidate. He seemed emotionless and awkward, especially when he came into direct contact with voters. But it is questionable whether DeSantis would have posed a real threat to Trump even with a well-organized campaign.
A lot of effort, little return in Iowa
Four charges against Trump – including because he had tried to overturn the 2020 election results – had contributed significantly to the political revival of the ex-president. A large part of the base stands firmly by him, and the accusations seem to have strengthened these supporters.
This became abundantly clear in the state of Iowa: DeSantis tried to score points with great effort (and a lot of money). Campaign workers knocked on tens of thousands of front doors in the freezing cold, DeSantis traveled to all 99 counties in the state – and secured the support of the governor of Iowa. DeSantis was still outclassed by Trump by 30 percentage points in this first, important primary.
The polls predicted more humiliating defeats for DeSantis. He has now drawn the conclusions from this and ended his candidacy.
Trump’s party
After the first primary election, Trump only had one competitor: Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and former UN ambassador. She appeals to the anti-Trump faction in the Republican base. Maybe she’ll do well in New Hampshire tomorrow. But their chances are also slim.
Those who have previously supported DeSantis are unlikely to switch to Haley but to Trump. Everything indicates that Trump will easily be nominated by his party for a third time and will face President Joe Biden in November. Ron DeSantis did what other high-ranking Republicans had already done: he declared that he now supported Donald Trump. All of this shows: The Republican Party is Trump’s party. Probably more than ever.
Legend:
SRF
Elections are taking place in the USA: primaries have been taking place in individual states since January 2024. The congressional and presidential elections will take place on November 5, 2024. Current news and background information can be found at US elections 2024.