Dem
51
GOP
49
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) was a member of the House for 6 years before he was elected governor of Florida. Many of his former House colleagues are still in Congress, or at least are still alive. So he can count on lots of endorsements from current and former House members, right? Well, actually no. In fact, off the record, and sometimes on the record, most House members who knew him don't like him at all. Oops.
For example, former Rep. David Trott (R), who sat next to DeSantis on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said: "I was new to Congress and he didn't introduce himself or even say hello. I think he is an a**hole. I don't think he cares about people." A spokesperson for DeSantis declined to comment on Trott's remarks. This probably means they are true. Trott also said that Donald Trump tries to get to know people. DeSantis focuses on which hot-button issues he needs to talk about to get the electorate fired up. But he is arrogant and nobody liked him when he was in Congress.
Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) said that he has had a hard time connecting with his governor. When DeSantis held events in Steube's district, Steube was told he wasn't welcome at them. That is extremely unusual. When Steube had a serious accident and landed in the ICU, the first person to call was Donald Trump. DeSantis never called.
First-term Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) also has a story along these lines. After her father died in January, Trump sent her a personal note. DeSantis did not, although his wife Casey did.
All these stories take us back to 2000. The voters tended to agreed with Al Gore on the issues, but they would rather have had a beer with George W. Bush. And, of course, Bush won. The idea that DeSantis is an unpleasant fellow you would best avoid seems to keep coming up. Is that going to be fatal in the primaries? We don't know, but it certainly can't help him. (V)