On Sunday, Ron DeSantis announced the end of his presidential campaign, endorsing Donald Trump in the same video and ending a campaign that was anything but smooth or effective.
From a speechwriter posting neo-Nazi symbolism on social media, to clearing house on campaign staff midway through last summer, DeSantis never settled into a specific lane throughout his campaign and never broke through with Republican voters.
As a conservative voter, I initially supported the DeSantis campaign. I thought that he was the best chance Republicans had at taking the White House. I saw him as a candidate strong enough to beat Trump, and he was primed to do so. When DeSantis launched his campaign last spring, he was the popular Florida governor who guided his state properly through the COVID-19 pandemic and had just won a somewhat contested state by almost 20 points.
What disappointed me rather quickly in the Florida governor’s campaign was his reluctance to go after Trump. He wanted to be the heir apparent to the MAGA throne, rather than be a true alternative to the Trump brand of politics.
While his cultural warrior policies should have been a warning, I was too optimistic about his ability to focus on other issues.
Following the GOP nomination?How third-party candidates could change 2024.
However, as he fell further and further behind in the polls, and after a major staffing shakeup, DeSantis became more comfortable criticizing Trump. I thought maybe he would actually find his lane by graciously thanking Trump for his successes but acknowledging it was time to move on.
However, that lane never materialized in a voting base that was sadly reluctant to move on from Trump, despite his many faults.
The problem for DeSantis is that Trump's grip on his wing of the Republican Party is too strong, and any candidate looking to beat Trump is fighting an extreme uphill battle to siphon even the slightest bit of support from that base.
GOP belongs to Trump:DeSantis drops out, and admits what we knew all along
Candidates like Haley have outperformed expectations because they chose to be a true alternative to Trump, leading to her capturing a large share of independents.
Now, after making enemies with both the Trump loyalists and the never-Trumpers, DeSantis has chosen to kiss the MAGA ring in an attempt to salvage what is left of his political career.
The one thing that becomes clear now is that DeSantis never actually believed anything he said. After being on the receiving end of some pretty brutal attacks from Trump, DeSantis has chosen the Ted Cruz path of bowing down to your high school bully to ease the punishment.
Republicans like me now turn to Nikki Haley as the last hope of a reasonable conservative candidate. As someone who cannot justify a vote for Trump, as bad as President Joe Biden is, my hope is that Haley pulls off the upset so I can actually vote for a conservative I actually respect.
Sadly, it looks increasingly likely that I will reach the age of 26 without casting a vote for president, and that the Republican Party has stopped listening to voters like me.
Dace Potas is an Opinion fellow for USA TODAY. A graduate from DePaul University with a degree in political science, he's also president of the Lone Conservative, the largest conservative student-run publication in the country.
DeSantis' decision to endorse Trump shows he never meant a word
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22.01.2024
On Sunday, Ron DeSantis announced the end of his presidential campaign, endorsing Donald Trump in the same video and ending a campaign that was anything but smooth or effective.
From a speechwriter posting neo-Nazi symbolism on social media, to clearing house on campaign staff midway through last summer, DeSantis never settled into a specific lane throughout his campaign and never broke through with Republican voters.
As a conservative voter, I initially supported the DeSantis campaign. I thought that he was the best chance Republicans had at taking the White House. I saw him as a candidate strong enough to beat Trump, and he was primed to do so. When DeSantis launched his campaign last spring, he was the popular Florida governor who guided his state properly through the COVID-19 pandemic and had just won a somewhat........
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