A new report said the advisers to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are laying the foundation for a potential 2024 presidential run.
DeSantis, who in November was elected to a second term as Florida’s governor, has not yet said he is running for the White House.
To date, former President Donald Trump is the only major Republican figure who has publicly announced his plan to run.
But DeSantis, who won a smashing victory in Florida in November, comes in either second or first in most opinion polls sampling Republicans’ mood for a 2024 standard-bearer.
With that level of national support — coupled with a rising national profile from his policies to support parents in schools — aides are putting together the pieces in the event DeSantis runs, according to The Washington Post, which based its report on “two Republicans with knowledge of the conversations.”
According to the report, potential hires in the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire have been identified and some experienced figures have shown interest.
The report named Phil Cox and Generra Peck, both of whom were part of DeSantis’s team last year, as central to conversations about 2024. Cox is a former executive director of the Republican Governors Association; Peck managed the DeSantis campaign last year. Neither responded when the Post asked for comment on its speculation.
Bill Bowen, a New Hampshire Republican delegate, said he thinks DeSantis could do well in his state.
“I’m convinced there’s a good network of establishment party people in New Hampshire that will quickly have a very effective DeSantis campaign,” Bowen said.
Do you think DeSantis should run in 2024?
Yes: 43% (83 Votes)
No: 57% (108 Votes)
According to the Post, DeSantis and Trump lead a group of Republicans it lists as potential 2024 contenders including former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The Post also tossed out the names of former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina as possibly having an interest in running.
Selfish opinion …
I don’t want DeSantis to run for President in 2024. We need him here in Florida. What he’s done for my state is a miracle and is extremely important.
He’s young and has plenty of time to win the presidency after his full 8 year term is up in Florida.
— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) January 20, 2023
An analysis by Amy Walter posted on the Cook Political Report suggested Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s name should not be forgotten. Above all, she wrote, gauging the mood of the voters in 2024 will be the key to success.
“In 2016, voters clearly weren’t interested in another ‘establishment’ standard-bearer and, despite losing the last two presidential elections, were willing to take a big risk with an untested, undisciplined, but utterly unique Trump,” she wrote.
“For Democrats in 2020, fear of Trump’s second term was more powerful than ideology or personality,” she continued.
She offered her opinion on the GOP 2024 sweepstakes.
“For Republicans, the mood this year suggests that voters are looking for someone like Trump just without all the baggage and the drama. Hence the appeal of DeSantis. But there’s no guarantee that it will be the case a few months from now, or that DeSantis will still be seen as the ideal candidate to fit that space,” she wrote.
