TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has repeatedly cast the GOP presidential primary as a two-way race between himself and former president Donald Trump. He has declared himself the only candidate who can unite Republican voters against another Trump nomination.
New polls and reports involving DeSantis' own Florida allies tell a different story.
The polls
Polls from several key primary battleground states, compiled by the New York Times, show DeSantis not only far behind Trump, but actively losing support nationally and in some state polls.
According to a CNN/University of New Hampshire poll released earlier this week, support for DeSantis dropped by more than half of what it was in July. The new poll showed DeSantis with 10 percent support, putting him closely behind Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy. Trump remained far ahead of all of them with 39 percent support.
Fox Business polls showed DeSantis polling at 10 percent in South Carolina, putting him significantly below Nikki Haley (who polled at 18 percent) and lower than where he was in July. In Iowa, where the first Republican caucus will be held, his support stagnated at around 15 percent.
According to the latest Quinnipiac University poll of likely Republican voters, support for DeSantis dropped six points compared to August, putting him at 12 percent.
Donald Trump continues to dominate polls of likely Republican voters despite multiple criminal indictments, upcoming trials, and evidence of criminal involvement in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, theft of classified documents, and subsequent efforts to interfere with investigations into both crimes.
Florida support
Reporting from Politico suggests that DeSantis' presidential campaign struggles are costing him support among his own allies in Florida.
One Republican consultant in Tallahassee told Politico that many Florida Republicans are expecting DeSantis' campaign to fail and are waiting for him to drop out of the race.
Another suggested that the Florida state legislature's support for the governor is waning. "They are faking it. They are waiting long enough to see the king drained of all his power. It's a slow-motion coup," the lobbyist said.
Politico went on to report that many lawmakers, party officials and appointees have started openly defying DeSantis: Board appointees have rejected job applicants with ties to the governor. GOP officials rescinded a state bylaw requiring the presidential primary candidates to endorse the winning candidate for the general election despite DeSantis' wishes.
State Rep. Daniel Perez, the incoming state House speaker, appeared to warn fellow legislators against greenlighting every aspect of the governor's agenda, though he never referred to DeSantis specifically. "The problem with wielding the power of government like a hammer is that the people start looking like nails," Perez said.
DeSantis still has devoted supporters and allies among Florida legislators, but some are openly suggesting that a failed presidential campaign could diminish his standing in Florida's government.
"I don't know that the Legislature is going to play ball with him in the same way that they have previously," said House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa.