ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It looks like voters can rule out the possibility of a Trump-DeSantis 2024 ticket.
On a Wisconsin-based podcast, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wouldn't be Donald Trump's running mate if the former president were to win the Republican presidential primary.
"I'm not a No. 2 guy," DeSantis said. "I think I'm a leader. Governor of Florida, I've been able to accomplish a lot. I think I probably could do more staying there than being VP, which doesn't really have any authority."
Polls across the board show Trump leading the race for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, with DeSantis trailing in second. In a CBS News poll conducted in June, 61% of Republican primary voters picked Trump as their first choice, followed by 23% who chose DeSantis.
If the Florida governor were to lose the primary, he said he would support whoever the Republican nominee is.
“There’s two candidates that can win the nomination: Trump and me, and I would say I’m the only one that can win both the nomination and the general election," DeSantis told the hosts.
Back in May, 10 Tampa Bay reporter Aaron Parseghian spoke to local voters at Conservative Grounds, a GOP-themed coffee shop in Largo, about their thoughts on the election.
And when it comes to the primary, they're not picking sides yet.
“I think healthy competition is great,” Audra Christian said about Trump and DeSantis. "I will honestly take both. Either one. I like them both."
“I think as long as the Republican base remains friendly with each other, I think that will be great," the customer added. "I think if we start fighting at the base, it will fracture us. And that's, that's very bad for us.”