TAMPA, Fla. — Flanked by many familiar faces in local law enforcement, Gov. Ron DeSantis touted endorsements from 60 bipartisan Florida sheriffs in a tough-on-crime speech to supporters Thursday in Tampa.
"We need law and order in this country more than ever. The people that commit crimes must be brought to justice," DeSantis said to cheers.
The governor also touted efforts in Florida under his leadership to attract and retain police officers and his decision to remove elected state attorneys like Andrew Warren and Monique Worrell for what he called dereliction of duty. A practice DeSantis said he would do at the federal level if put in office, "We're not going to let our cities crumble anymore."
His campaign stop in his home state comes at a crucial time, as he faces a slow decline in polling against former president and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, who in Tampa and as of late, DeSantis has gone on the offense against.
"Nobody is entitled to be nominated, nobody. Especially anybody that couldn't even stop Joe Biden," DeSantis said, adding he failed to keep promises like having Mexico pay for a border wall. "Every promise I made as governor, I've delivered on 100 percent. I'll do the same as president but not only that, I'm gonna deliver on other people's promises.
"So I will follow and deliver on Donald Trump's promise to build a wall and have Mexico pay for [it]. I will get that done."
Supporters who went to his event say they like the tougher take on Trump.
"I want him to talk about the mis-leadership in the party," said University of South Florida student and DeSantis supporter Adam Margolis. “His clapping back is one of his best aspects, he’s saying the things people need to hear."
The governor has faced considerable challenges to his presidential ambitions as his support has decreased in national and battleground state polls.
A recent poll from USA Today/Suffolk had DeSantis at only 10 percent support in New Hampshire, putting him in third place behind former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. A new poll from Quinnipiac says DeSantis' support in Pennsylvania is at 14 percent, while a poll from Winthrop University shows him trailing Trump and Haley at 12 percent support.
DeSantis' presidential campaign struggles have reportedly threatened to diminish his influence with Florida donors and legislators. He also faces legal challenges, including a state court lawsuit regarding his appointees of Walt Disney World's governing district as Disney has demanded emails, texts and other communications from the governor's office.
He is also being challenged in federal court over his state redistricting maps which civil rights advocates claim unlawfully eliminated a majority-Black district in northern Florida and allowed Republicans to pick up extra Congressional seats in the 2022 midterm elections.
According to a report by NBC News, DeSantis' campaign has been struggling with funds, entering October with just $5 million in cash available and aides being deployed from Tallahassee to help bolster his campaign in Iowa.
On Thursday, DeSantis denied his campaign was struggling by stating, "People tried to say this months ago that was wrong. We proved them wrong. We're going to continue to prove them wrong again."