Florida Gov. , evangelical abortion opponent, Trump antagonist.
“DeSantis has not made any headway,” Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, wrote in the polling results. “The arguments that he’d be a stronger candidate and a more effective president than Trump have both fallen flat.”
In general, the GOP field has shown little movement outside of long-shot biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy cementing his third-place status in the Monmouth survey. Rival campaigns are also bracing for a possible surge from South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott less than six months from the first nominating contest.
The DeSantis team is planning a reboot that will focus on more intimate events instead of big speeches, with less of an emphasis on Florida. He also intends to play ball with the national media going forward.
DeSantis downplayed his campaign woes in his first taped sit-down with a mainstream outlet, blaming his opponents for turning him into a target.
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“I think the left views me as a threat because they think I’ll beat Biden and actually deliver on all this stuff. And then, of course, people who have their allegiances on the Republican side have gone after me,” DeSantis told CNN host Jake Tapper last week. “But the reality is, this is a state by state process. I’m not running a campaign to juice whatever we are in the national polls.”
