Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is burnishing his conservative credentials as he tries to differentiate himself from the 2024 Republican primary front-runner, former President Donald Trump.
However, DeSantis’s supporters are hoping history does not repeat itself after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) adopted a similar approach to the 2016 primary and won Iowa but not the nomination.
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Cruz did not run to Trump’s right, but he is “simply” more conservative than the former president, according to University of Iowa professor Timothy Hagle.
“Back in 2015, Trump was very well known, but he wasn’t known as a conservative,” Hagle told the Washington Examiner. “He was saying the right things at the time to make Republicans and many independents, what we call ‘No Party voters’ here in Iowa, like him.”
Iowa voters concerned about Trump’s conservatism, instead, focused on judges and the subject of abortion, the former president promising to nominate Supreme Court justices from a list compiled by the conservative and libertarian legal organization the Federalist Society.
Now, Hagle contends Trump has “moved to the left” on topics including abortion and COVID-19, citing his criticism of Florida‘s six-week abortion ban and his praise of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s pandemic management over that of DeSantis.
“That makes it easier for DeSantis to position himself as the principled conservative candidate who has both the vision and leadership skills to get things done,” the professor said. “DeSantis points out that the wall didn’t get built, etc.,” he added. “That part of the argument goes more to leadership than ideology.”
DeSantis has been making the same case since announcing his campaign. DeSantis underscored that Trump “is a different guy than 2015, 2016,” as he appeals to the former president’s supporters and, in interviews with Ben Shapiro and Matt Murphy, points to his scrutiny of the governor’s abortion, immigration, and spending positions.
“It seems like he’s running to the left,” he said last month. “But I can tell you, you don’t win nationally by moving to the left. You win nationally by standing for bold policies. We showed that in Florida. I never watered down anything I did. I never contorted myself to be something I’m not. I went out there and told the truth. People knew where I stood, and they responded in record fashion.”
Cruz outperformed Trump in Iowa in 2016 by 4 percentage points, 28% to 24%, and received one more delegate, 8 to 7, in a state where the caucus process is dominated by party activists and evangelical Christians. But a week later, Trump trounced Cruz in more centrist New Hampshire by 19 points, 35% to 16%, and eight more delegates, 11 to 3.
“Returning to the Cruz question, an additional thing that helped him in Iowa was that he ran a more traditional caucus campaign,” Hagle said. “That means showing up at lots of events and interacting with voters. Trump didn’t do that. Given his much larger name recognition and personal preferences, he held rallies and such and didn’t really have as strong a ground game in Iowa.”
DeSantis, whose Iowa team is composed of former Cruz aides, is attempting to replicate the senator’s early success, though he has been criticized for his retail politics skills. During his first trip to Iowa as a declared contender last week, the governor did not answer voter questions, but he did when he arrived in South Carolina after spending a day in New Hampshire. Simultaneously, Trump is glad-handing more this cycle.
What constitutes conservativism is set to be further litigated in Iowa with former Vice President Mike Pence‘s announcement in Ankeny on Wednesday. Pence entered the primary this week, along with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), urging voters to reject Trump. The field is rounded out by former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), two-term Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, multimillionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, businessman and author Perry Johnson, and conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder.
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“The American people deserve to know that on [Jan. 6], President Trump also demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution,” Pence said in Iowa on Wednesday. “Now, voters will be faced with the same choice. I chose the Constitution, and I always will.”
“President Trump was wrong then, and he’s wrong now,” he added. “Anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States, and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president of the U.S. again.”
