Why DeSantis Is Suffering From Success

Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not yet launched a presidential campaign for 2024, is currently considered to be the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination. However, many strategists and lawmakers have noted that frequently early front-runners do not end up performing as well as expected of them.

Cases of this include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), whose cautious approach led to many people not finding him energetic enough to become the nominee, or former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) failed to win the necessary support in a match in Iowa.

Some have even noted that it is entirely too possible that DeSantis might reach the peak of support too early, which could lead to him not having enough support when the time for the Presidential primary came. This was what happened to former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in the 2016 Republican presidential primary.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has noted that it is possible for people to “flame out” regardless of how much support they have had in other state elections. This does not mean that DeSantis should not be perceived as a formidable candidate, especially since he managed to secure his reelection in the 2022 midterm election with 59 percent of the votes.

Many Republicans following the midterm elections started turning to DeSantis who they view as a better candidate for the Presidency.

David Paleologos, the director of the political research center at Suffolk University, in a recent poll also noted that around 61 percent of GOP and GOP-leaning voters said they preferred to have DeSantis as the next nominee and not former President Trump.