DeSantis scrambles to undercut Trump as Florida GOP defections mount
Ryan King
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With a primary showdown looming, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is working to undercut his chief foe, former President Donald Trump.
Trump’s edge over the 2024 Republican field has rocketed over recent weeks, buoyed by his recent indictment and endorsements from politicians from their shared home. To counter this, DeSantis’s team has been working the phones with the Florida congressional delegation, courting big donors, and bolstering his nascent campaign apparatus.
DESANTIS ALLIES HOPE ADVANTAGE IN BIG STATES WILL HELP HIM IN 2024 GOP RACE
Curtailing Florida GOP defections
Last week, DeSantis world was rocked by Rep. Byron Donalds’s (R-FL) surprise endorsement of Trump. A rising star within the GOP, Donalds is a speculated successor to DeSantis as governor. Donalds wasn’t alone either. Trump has picked up endorsements from roughly half a dozen members of the Florida congressional delegation.
Following the curveball from Donalds, the governor’s political allies have been working the phones, contacting at least six members of Florida’s congressional team in hopes of preventing future hemorrhaging, sources told NBC.
DeSantis has racked up a bevy of endorsements, particularly from state legislators in Utah and former members of Congress, including from Florida. But he only has two sitting members of Congress backing him so far, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Chip Roy (R-TX), neither of whom hail from Florida.
Meanwhile, Trump has more than four dozen current members backing him.
The Florida governor is set to head to Washington, D.C., next week to huddle with Republican members of Congress as part of a meet and greet.
Courting donors
If there’s one thing Trump is envious of with DeSantis, it’s his vast Rolodex of donors. His campaign recently attempted to poach donors from DeSantis, stressing that Trump will inevitably be the GOP standard bearer, according to a memo obtained by Politico.
Although not in the contest yet, DeSantis has been huddling with donors over recent weeks. Last month, he skipped the Conservative Political Action Conference and attended the Club for Growth’s annual donor retreat instead.
Given his status as the second-place GOP aspirant in most polls, DeSantis has positioned himself as the most viable alternative to Trump-wary donors.
Groups backing him have also enjoyed considerable favor with donors as well. For instance, the super PAC Never Back Down, which seeks to lay the groundwork for his campaign, hauled in $30 million within a month of its launch.
‘Shadow Campaign’
Although walking like a candidate, DeSantis has yet to declare for 2024. Doing so could run afoul of Florida’s “resign to run” law and complicate his second term as governor with the Florida legislature in full gear. Scrapping the resign to run law is a quiet priority of his.
Instead, DeSantis has been crisscrossing the country, touting Florida as a model for the nation and promoting his new book. His busy itinerary features states ranging from Ohio to New Hampshire, where he is set to deliver a speech Friday at a major state party fundraising event.
Further aiding those efforts is support from various PACs backing him, such as Never Back Down, which has recruited top Republican operatives. This includes Trump veterans such as Matt Wolking, former Trump 2020 campaign deputy communications director; and Erin Perrine, the 2020 Trump campaign’s director of press communications.
Trump’s 2024 campaign has lashed out at DeSantis over these moves, accusing him of mounting a stealth campaign for president. One Trump-aligned PAC even lodged a formal complaint against DeSantis for doing this.
By maintaining a robust travel schedule without a formal campaign, DeSantis appears to be trying to tamp down accusations of abandoning his gubernatorial duties while not getting undermined on the 2024 battlefield.
Moreover, DeSantis is seeking to eke out as many legislative wins as possible to shore up his portfolio ahead of a bruising primary battle.
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Ultimately, Trump’s edge in the 2024 contest appears to have grown in recent weeks, fueled by GOP backlash to his indictment. But his campaign is not sitting still. It recently cut an attack ad against DeSantis, who has largely refrained from returning fire on Trump.
DeSantis is expected to unveil his 2024 intentions at some point after the Florida legislature wraps up its business in May.