Florida Governor Ron DeSantis once looked like the inevitable heir to Donald Trump's MAGA movement, but observers have been stunned by the collapse of his political fortunes on the national stage — and back in his home state.
The 46-year-old Republican was anointed as “DeFuture” of the Republican Party, but analysts have charted what The Guardian described as "a fall of stunning velocity and magnitude" since he unsuccessfully challenged Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination.
“He’s completely crashed to the ground at this point and is certainly being treated like a more standard, average governor now,” said Aubrey Jewett, professor of political science at the University of Central Florida.
“He’s lost the ability to push things through," Jewett added. "He’s lost that luster he had that, at one time, seemed like he could do no wrong in Republican conservative circles. He’s definitely come back down to earth and some of it is his own doing because if you govern with an autocratic style, that doesn’t usually make you a lot of allies.”
DeSantis once enjoyed the unquestioned support of the GOP-dominated legislature of his state, but he's now feuding with House Speaker Daniel Perez, who has accused the governor of lying and throwing "temper tantrums." Republicans also want to know how $10 million from a massive legal settlement for Florida taxpayers was channeled through the nonprofit Hope Florida, founded by the governor's wife, Casey DeSantis.
“At one point, Casey looked like she was going to be the heir apparent to Ron DeSantis and she was going to run, and he certainly seemed like he was trying to position her to do so,” Jewett said. “That would extend his legacy and help keep him around for some more years, he can be the first husband and people would say he’s an equal partner or whatever. That would take away some of his lame-duck status.”
DeSantis has found himself eclipsed by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as Trump's potential successors, which Jewett said must be galling to the governor.
“It’s notable that when Trump was asked who might follow him, he didn’t mention DeSantis at all,” Jewett said. “When DeSantis challenged Trump for the presidential nomination, it ticked Trump off and it ticked off a lot of Trump supporters, who up until then generally liked him."
But his ill-fated presidential bid revealed DeSantis as an awkward campaigner, and he made too many enemies along the way.
“It came out while he was running that he doesn’t have the great personality that a traditional politician has. He just didn’t seem well suited for shaking hands, eating hot dogs and kissing babies, the kind of typical American political things. It destroyed his air of invincibility.”
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The governor's former GOP allies are largely backing Trump-endorsed Congressman Byron Donalds for governor instead of Casey DeSantis, and observers say that seems to be an intentional slight.
“I don’t know that they necessarily think Donalds is the greatest thing since sliced bread – I think it’s, ‘Well, we got to block Casey from getting in’,” said Michael Binder, professor of political science and public administration at the University of North Florida.
The DeSantis-Trump feud seems to have cooled, Binder said, but his political future is cloudy, at best, with his pathway to a Senate seat blocked by former attorney general and close ally Ashley Moody, whom he appointed to fill Rubio's vacant seat and would have to challenge in 2026.
“It doesn’t look good and his political prospects are definitely more dim than they were, his road seems that much more difficult right now,” Jewett said.
“But you just never know," Jewett added. "One big wild card is how people view Trump in another year. It’s a decent assumption the MAGA movement will continue and, if Trump really falters, then maybe DeSantis’s distance from Trump actually ends up being a positive in the longer run."
