DeSantis meets with Iowa influencer ahead of book release as 2024 hopefuls make moves

The release of Ron DeSantis’ new book Tuesday is sure to spark a fresh round of speculation about the Florida governor’s political future, furthering the widely held belief that — no matter what the Republican leader says publicly — he’ll soon become a candidate for president.

Many GOP voters across the country, apparently, are eager for him to jump into the race.

DeSantis would start the GOP presidential primary as one of its two leading candidates, according to a slate of recent polls, many of which show the governor and former President Donald Trump neck-and-neck in a hypothetical matchup while drawing far more support than other potential rivals.

In interviews with leading conservatives and party strategists, many describe him as something akin to a co-front-runner with Trump, despite never having sought national office and likely facing a field of GOP candidates with deep ties to the conservative movement.

“Right now, Trump is the front-runner,” said Bob Vander Plaats, CEO of The Family Leader, an Iowa-based social conservative group. “And if and when DeSantis gets in, he’ll be the front-runner of all those other than Trump.”

Vander Plaats, an influential Evangelical leader from the state that hosts the Republican primary’s first nominating contest, met with DeSantis on Monday in Naples for a “short hour,” he said. (The meeting was arranged by a mutual friend whom Vander Plaats declined to name.)

Vander Plaats said the two men spoke generally about the challenges facing the country rather than the specifics of a presidential campaign. But a White House bid, he added, is plainly on everyone’s mind when they think about the governor.

“It’s the worst-kept secret that he would at least be considering a run,” the Iowa conservative said. “And there are many that are encouraging him to run.”

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A new poll released this week from WPA Intelligence, a GOP polling firm, found DeSantis leading a hypothetical field of candidates in the primary, drawing 40% support from Republican voters nationwide. Trump trailed in second with 31%, while no other potential candidate reached double-digit levels of support.

Other surveys have found Trump leading nationally — a Quinnipiac University national poll of potential primary voters released earlier this month found Trump leading DeSantis 42% to 36% — and the former president has already earned the endorsement of marquee supporters in key early states, like South Carolina GOP Gov. Henry McMaster.

But party strategists say DeSantis’ electoral record in Florida, where he won reelection in a landslide last year, has already left a major impression on voters beyond the state’s borders.

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“Gov. DeSantis took what was the quintessential swing state, turned it into a solidly red state, and won non-Cuban Hispanics — all while governing as a conservative,” said Chris Wilson, who conducted the WPA survey. “If you’re a Republican primary voter who cares about winning elections and policy battles, his record is very appealing to you.”

Even Republicans who praise DeSantis concede that the 2024 GOP race is in its infancy and acknowledge that history is littered with examples of candidates who started formidably only to quickly fizzle, a list that includes former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 2008 and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2016.

Only two major candidates have even formally entered the Republican primary: Trump, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who announced her campaign earlier this month. Other potential candidates, including former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, are expected to decide on a presidential bid in the coming months.

DeSantis, for his part, has not said whether he will run for president, choosing instead to focus on the state’s legislative session while announcing a barrage of conservative policy proposals.

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But on Tuesday, his new book, “The Courage to be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival,” will be published. Writing a book is traditionally seen as a rite of passage for future presidential candidates, heralding a soon-to-be announced campaign.

It also comes on the heels of a three-state tour the governor took on Monday, to talk about crime, and the growing hope that he’ll soon start visiting other states, especially those with an early nominating contest. It also comes amid reports that the governor will meet with donors Friday in Palm Beach and travel to Alabama and Texas next month.

Republican political operatives say even at this early stage of the process, voters are already eager to see DeSantis in person.

“I suspect the first time he’s in New Hampshire, you’re going to be hard pressed to find a building big enough to fit everyone interested in seeing him,” said Jim Merrill, a New Hampshire-based Republican strategist.

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Some Republicans, even those encouraging the Florida governor to consider a campaign, caution that he’ll need to prove he can handle the often intense, personal aspect of a primary, including meeting people face to face. That kind of effort, known as retail politics, has not always been seen as a strength of DeSantis’ despite his political success in Florida.

“Ron DeSantis is going to have to turn around and nail down retail politics,” said Dave Wilson, president of the Palmetto Family Council in South Carolina. “Everywhere he goes, he’s going to have a following of people who want to clamor to meet him. But they also want to start to hear from him at the restaurants, hear him speak at an event, go to a town hall, visit their churches, those kinds of things where the retail politics of presidential preference come into play.”