Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis fumbled a crucial opportunity to pick up support from the Republican establishment in a high-stakes visit to Washington, D.C.
The presumed presidential challenger to Donald Trump spoke last Tuesday to a full house at a Heritage Foundation event, where congressional staffers attended with their families, but several of his state's congressional delegation instead endorsed the twice-impeached ex-president, reported Politico.
“[DeSantis] is in a much weaker position now than he was a few months ago. Trump is in a much stronger position,” said moderate Republican strategist Sarah Longwell. "[He's] had a tough few weeks.”
The governor had been holding off on entering the 2024 primary until after Florida's legislative session ends in a few weeks, but Trump has continued to gather support while DeSantis has failed to build on his early momentum.
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“He looks like a governor -- he peaked months ago,” said one Republican ex-politician from New York who is backing Trump. “I don’t think the party moves forward until we get through [Trump’s] comeback chances. The road to DeSantis 2028 goes through Trump 2024.”
“Redemption today," that person added, "DeSantis tomorrow.”
Some donors have expressed concern about the governor's moves to ban abortion and books, although many still believe he's a strong contender.
“In many ways he was the frontrunner even ahead of Trump," said Mark Graul, a Wisconsin Republican operative. "He struggled a little bit with how best to handle that."
But conservatives doubt DeSantis can get enough breathing room to compete against a former president who soaks up media coverage with every utterance.
“DeSantis is in D.C. to try locking up some endorsements for himself because every time Trump picks up another endorsement, he gets a whole news cycle out of it,” Longworth said. “DeSantis is on the precipice of Trump seeming inevitable.”
