Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R-FL) campaign is denying claims that the governor’s candidacy is in peril, including a comment that his campaign has reached the “make the patient comfortable” stage.
Longtime pollster and close DeSantis adviser Ryan Tyson reportedly said to multiple people privately that, at this point in the campaign, they are doing what they need to “make the patient comfortable,” a phrase used when describing those in hospice care. The comments came in the wake of DeSantis losing ground in certain statewide polls, as former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley continues to make a steady climb into second place.
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DeSantis’s campaign has repeatedly dismissed claims that the Florida governor’s bid for the White House is deteriorating. Communications director Andrew Romeo told the New York Times that Tyson denied his remarks about making “the patient comfortable.”
“Different day, same media hit job based on unnamed sources with agendas,” Romeo said to the outlet. “While the media tried to proclaim this campaign dead back in August, Ron DeSantis fought back and enters the home stretch in Iowa as the hardest working candidate with the most robust ground game. DeSantis has been underestimated in every race he’s ever run and always proved the doubters wrong — we are confident he will defy the odds once again on Jan. 15.”
DeSantis, who was long expected to be the top challenger to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, has failed to regain the close standings he saw with Trump in the polls following the 2022 midterm elections, where he carried Republicans through a red wave in Florida. Since then, he has seen a steady decline in national polls as Trump continues to dominate the primary field.
In New Hampshire, Haley has bolstered herself into second place, with polling showing the possibility of her winning the state over Trump. In Iowa, Haley is behind Trump and DeSantis but closing in on the Florida governor just weeks before the caucuses begin.
Never Back Down, DeSantis’s super PAC, has been inflicted with staff resignations and firings in recent months, and it recently canceled all of its planned television advertising in Iowa and New Hampshire before voting begins in the first nominating states. Several key players in Never Back Down, including top strategist Jeff Roe, have resigned amid internal disputes.
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Following concern over the DeSantis campaign’s spending, which saw an expenditure of roughly $7.9 million in the first six weeks of his launch, nearly 38 staffers were fired, cutting the team by a third heading into August.
Still, DeSantis continues to portray himself as the “only one that can beat Trump,” claiming Haley cannot get support from core Republicans and conservatives and he’s the “only one that can do that.”
