ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The election season is getting an extension — or just starting early — as many expect former President Donald Trump to launch his third presidential campaign Tuesday.
The announcement has many speculating if and when Gov. Ron DeSantis will throw his name in the hat.
So far, Florida's governor has been silent on the topic, but just about everyone else has something to say about it.
DeSantis took credit for the red wave that dominated in Florida on election night, telling the packed crowd at the Tampa Convention Center, "We not only won an election, we have rewritten the political map."
However, nationally, many Republicans came up short — many were endorsed by Trump. The outcome has amplified conversations about a Trump vs. DeSantis primary.
"DeSantis hasn't said he's going to run. He's avoided the question at all cost," said Cliff Gephart, a Republican voter from Pinellas County.
Gephart is part-owner of Largo coffee shop Conservative Grounds, "a place where Conservatives would feel welcome and American would be loved," according to the website.
He's been all-in on Trump since 2015 and believes the Trump vs. DeSantis dynamic could hurt the party.
"I think Trump is the type of person that if he didn't win the primary, he'd run as an independent and that would destroy all conservative movement. I think Trump would say, no I'm still going to run. I think it's in his make-up to not give up, to never quit," Gephart said.
Trump already called DeSantis an "average governor" who lacks loyalty and class for refusing to rule out a 2024 run. So far, DeSantis hasn't engaged.
"A lot of it will have to do with how long he wants to wait which there's a lot of reasons for just holding off, you can't wait forever, but for one thing we know, issue importance can change with a snap of the finger," said Susan MacManus, a professor emerita of political science at the University of South Florida.
Determining his platform, fundraising, and maneuvering Trump might wait for now but likely won't change the head-to-head match-up.
"Trump is still probably the man to beat nationwide," said political analyst Dr. Lars Hafner.
Gephart said he's had DeSantis at the coffee shop three times and Donald Trump Jr. has visited in the past. Gephart thinks he knows who he would vote for in a DeSantis vs. Trump primary but he didn't want to say.
"Loyalty is huge. Ron would have to think, I might not be governor, I might not have the opportunities I have now if it wasn't for him," Gephart said.
The Chair of the Hillsborough County Republican Party, Jim Waurishuk, believes DeSantis will serve a full second term as governor and the talk between Trump and DeSantis is being fueled by Democrats.
"From everything I have heard from within the Republican Party, Governor DeSantis has no intention to run in 2024. Nor has he addressed the issue in any way. Governor DeSantis will honor and respect the voters of Florida to fulfill his reelection contact and serve a full second term as Governor," Waurishuk said in an e-mail to 10 Tampa Bay.
According to a new YouGov poll, more American voters prefer Florida DeSantis to be the Republican nominee for president in 2024 than Trump, but it's very close.
The new poll completed in the days following the midterm elections found:
- 23% of voters said they prefer Ron DeSantis
- 20% of voters said they prefer Donald Trump
- 41% of voters said they prefer neither
When you look at just Republican voters, the poll found:
- 41% of Republican voters said they prefer Ron DeSantis
- 39% of Republican voters said they prefer Donald Trump
- 8% of Republican voters said they prefer neither