With the Iowa Caucuses about a month away, and with former President Donald Trump leading the field of Republican presidential candidates by an average of 28.6 percentage points in Iowa, and 47.6 percentage points nationwide in all of the public opinion polls, could a potential Gov. Ron DeSantis or Ambassador Nikki Haley surge bridge enough of that gap to make the 2024 GOP presidential primary election competitive?
American politics are as fluid as a large glass of water, anything can happen.
President Trump looks unbeatable because of his position of being a former sitting U.S. President who just so happens to have a massive base of Republican voter support.
If Gov. DeSantis were to lose against President Trump, and eventually bow out of the race, where does that leave him in case he wants to try to run for president again in 2028?
Like I recently told veteran Republican strategist Roger Stone on his WABE radio program, “The Roger Stone Show,” DeSantis will have a tougher road to the GOP nomination in 2028 because he will not have the gubernatorial bully pulpit from which to raise money from.
DeSantis was able to raise the tens of millions of dollars he poured into his presidential campaign because he is a sitting governor.
In addition, if DeSantis runs in 2028, he will have a tougher field of candidates to contend with, including Sens. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Josh Hawley, all of whom would chip away at some of his 2024 advantages—military service and evangelical support.
Again, if DeSantis loses in 2024, he will have to finish out his second term strong and segway those accomplishments into another presidential run.
Still, a strong finish would not guarantee him the advantage over the rest of the field of candidates.
What about First Lady Casey DeSantis?
Stone believes that Mrs. DeSantis will run for governor of Florida in 2026, the year her husband ends his stint as governor.
“I think that Casey DeSantis, the First Lady of Florida, will run for governor at the end of Governor Ron DeSantis’s second term,” said Roger Stone.
If she were to run, which I believe could be very likely, it instantly helps DeSantis' potential 2028 presidential run.
How?
Gov. DeSantis will obviously endorse his wife, and Floridians will see Mrs. DeSantis’s potential governorship as Mr. DeSantis’s third term in office.
Mrs. DeSantis is a very nice woman and, a great mother, is right on all the issues because she's helping the governor on all these political and legislative issues.
She is the core of the DeSantis political machine.
If she wins the governor’s race in 2026, Mrs. DeSantis will then control the aforementioned bully pulpit and will be able to raise an absorbent amount of cash, and possibly direct many of the lobbyists that will cling to her every word and stroke of the pen, much like they do with her husband, to donate to a 2028 Ron DeSantis for president campaign.
I know what your thinking. What about the kids?
Well, the DeSantis children will not be uprooted from their lives in Tallahassee whether or not DeSantis wins the 2024 Republican presidential nomination or not.
If he loses against Trump, he will still serve out his term. If Mrs. DeSantis runs for office and wins the governorship in 2026, nothing changes. Gov. DeSantis will still have access to his man cave inside the Governor’s Mansion for at least 4 more years.
Now, if DeSantis runs for president in 2028, wins the GOP nomination, and then wins the presidency, well you can expect Mrs. DeSantis to be a one-term governor and move the entire family into the White House.
This is all hypothetical, but there is talk that Mrs. DeSantis is eyeing a gubernatorial run.
Why not?
She is far more photogenic and personable than Gov. DeSantis and can deliver a heck of a speech.
Like her husband, Mrs. DeSantis enjoys a high approval rating among Republican voters in Florida.
A third DeSantis gubernatorial term could very well happen, if DeSantis loses in 2024.
