In 2021, Donald Trump had just lost the election and his supporters rioted in the Capitol. It seemed unlikely that he'd be back in 2024, so some Republicans started looking for an alternative. And those supposed king-makers landed on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the future of the party.
And for years, DeSantis has been prepping for this moment. The problem is, once he hit the campaign trail, his poll numbers tanked. He's now running third behind both Trump and Nikki Haley. At this point, it seems like he's just staying in the race in case Trump goes to jail.
According to a new piece in The Hill, though, DeSantis might be getting ready to exit. Douglas MacKinnon writes:
"I have heard from two people very familiar with the DeSantis campaign — a major donor and a high-level political operative — that if the Florida governor loses the Iowa caucuses to former President Donald Trump as expected on the night of Jan. 15, he will either drop out of the race that night or make his announcement the next morning."
The pundit closes his column by noting:
"If Trump does — as expected — crush DeSantis in Iowa, will it make sense for the Florida governor to go on to New Hampshire eight days later, where he is in fourth place at 9.5 percent and trailing former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 10.5 percent, Haley at 24.8 percent and Trump at an astounding 46.3 percent? After Iowa, more endorsements will flood toward Trump and more donors will run from DeSantis."
You can read the full column here