Dem
51
GOP
49
Yesterday we had an item about how Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is being crushed in the polls by Donald Trump and it is only getting worse. Some people think he ought to wait until 2028, as Trump certainly won't be on the ballot if he wins in 2024 and probably won't be on the ballot if he loses in 2024.
DeSantis is not one of those people. He is actively still doing all the things presidential candidates do and governors do not. For example, he is planning a trip to Israel and probably one to Asia. He is also traveling all over the U.S. to promote his new book. Before the pandemic, he almost never traveled out of state. He can't run again for governor in 2026 (although he can in 2030), so traveling to Israel now makes no sense—unless, of course, he is running for president and wants to add to his presidential C.V.: "Met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once for 15 minutes and took a selfie.""
The legislature is busy cranking out bills to demonstrate how much he hates woke. Again, there is no reason to do this other than beef up his support to run to the right of Donald Trump. Other signs of a run include a super PAC aligned with him is gearing up and the Florida Republican Party is getting ready for his run.
Of course, he could call it all off at the last minute, but DeSantis knows that in politics, a week is a long time. The New York indictment of Trump hit with a thud, but he is probably expecting the Georgia one to land soon and be a zinger. The New York indictment involved an obscure bookkeeping offense and the main witnesses are (1) a convicted liar and felon, (2) a porn star, and (3) a Pecker. In contrast, the Georgia one will be about trying to overturn an election and the main witnesses will be three unimpeachable state officials who were in the room listening when the crime was committed and recorded for playback to the jury. DeSantis is probably betting that public opinion will change when the Georgia indictment is issued and he could be right. He gets bonus points if there are also one or two federal indictments soon, even if they come a bit after his announcement. Finally, if he runs and comes in second in the primaries, that kinda makes him the frontrunner for 2028. After all, Ronald Reagan ran for the GOP nomination in 1976, failed to get it, but came back and got it in 1980. DeSantis may well be thinking that if he runs and comes in second, that could be his springboard to the 2028 nomination. (V)