As the speculation continues to mount that Ron DeSantis will run for President of the United States, the Florida governor is continuing a tour touting his governance of Florida, his policy ideas and goals, and advice on how Republicans can win amid electoral setbacks elsewhere in the country.
DeSantis, who won re-election in November of last year by 20 points, effectively turned the swing state into a solidly red state. It came in spite of a collapsed “red wave” that Republicans were aiming to pull off in the wake of opposition to the policies and actions of President Joe Biden and the Democrats. Florida was one of the GOP’s bright spots amid several disappointments in the 2022 midterms.
The Florida governor has been on what is ostensibly a book tour. Still, most analysts see it as a de facto presidential campaign before he officially declares. His upcoming stop may be the biggest affirmation of that yet – DeSantis will be headed to South Carolina on April 19.
South Carolina’s presidential primary, coming early in 2024, is the first in the South and widely seen as one of the most important when it comes to building early momentum in the primary calendar.
The event will be the first public event DeSantis has held in the state. He did appear at a private fundraiser last year, but the April 19 event will be his first time to present to the people of South Carolina the governor’s “freedom blueprint,” which DeSantis has been touting at events in several states – including New York and Pennsylvania.
South Carolina State Sen. Josh Kimbrell is the local politician responsible for making the event happen, according to the Associated Press.
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On Sunday, Kimbrell told the AP that he had been hoping to bring DeSantis to South Carolina for months now, arguing that politically savvy Republicans in the early voting state are accustomed to having multiple chances to get to know presidential candidates, in person.
“I’ve told everybody associated with his team, ’You’ve got to get here early and often,’” said Kimbrell, who has already joined efforts with a political action committee urging DeSantis to get into the race. “I’ve tried to make it clear to them that, if you want to win, you’ve got to get here early.” South Carolina for months has been hosting GOP candidates, including Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. There have also been trips from many of those anticipated to join the field, including former Vice President Mike Pence. Later this week, after a swing through Iowa and New Hampshire, Sen. Tim Scott returns home to South Carolina for a summit with donors, as he mulls a bid of his own.
Kimbrell admits he liked Trump’s presidency, but sees DeSantis as the way forward for the GOP, saying “I believe that Ron DeSantis is as popular among my base as Trump is.”
But Trump has been enjoying an upward trend of late, thanks to an unfolding legal drama that has the former president fighting on multiple fronts. After being indicted for widely-criticized business fraud charges, Trump is still looking at investigations in Georgia and in the Department of Justice. But that ongoing legal “persecution,” as Trump describes it, has been beneficial to him in the short term. He has raised millions in small-dollar donations and is enjoying a healthy bump in polling.
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