Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is blaming the dozens of indictments filed against former President Donald Trump by prosecutors like Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for interrupting the Republican primary and impacting the downward trajectory of his polling numbers.
“I think everyone can go back and point into the Alvin Bragg indictment and what that did to the polling nationally, and that was unmistakable,” DeSantis said, speaking with Neil Cavuto on Fox News on Friday.
“And then every indictment that would come down, and so yes, in my first campaign launch, but I would also point out two weeks after I started running they had the documents indictment that happened, and that crowded out everything,” he added.
DeSantis is alluding to the first case in which Bragg indicted Trump in April for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniel and subsequent indictment from special counsel Jack Smith related to Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents when he left the White House.
In all, Trump has faced 91 felony charges across four cases, and his poll numbers have ticked up with each indictment as the former president has decried the charges as politically motivated prosecutions.
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The Florida governor pointed to the momentum he experienced after the midterm election, where he won reelection over his Democratic opponent, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), by nearly 20 points in November. DeSantis’s decisive victory while the rest of the Republican Party underperformed in the 2022 election put him on the map.
“I think in those first few months after that, that was really front of mind. And then I think the court cases kind of pivoted away from that,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis went on to say he’s concerned about how the court cases will play in the general election with independent voters.
“The reality is is how are independent voters going to perceive these trials? And what happens going into the general election,” DeSantis questioned. “And my fear is that it will have a negative impact on the ticket. And I think the Democrats know this, and I think that they’re licking their chops to run this playbook.”
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Recent polling out of New Hampshire shows DeSantis far behind Trump and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. The RealClearPolitics average of polls in New Hampshire had Trump at 46.8% vs. 33.3% for Haley and just 6% for DeSantis.