DeSantis’ smashing victory, coupled with Trump’s disastrous defeats, means that, 18 months from now, the Republicans inevitably will coalesce behind DeSantis, not Trump, as they fight to win back the White House.
As I observed in my election day post, the 2022 mid-terms were all about Trump 2024 and whether the Republican Party would nominate him again, for a third-straight time, in 2024.
Well, the results are basically in (or at least sufficiently tallied); so we can draw a definitive conclusion:
Yesterday’s dismal GOP performance, albeit deeply disappointing, will have a chastening effect that will strengthen the party for the 2024 presidential election cycle.
Consequently, two years from now, Trump will not be the Republican Party presidential nominee; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be.
How do we know this? Because Trump’s handpicked candidates and toadies overwhelmingly went down to defeat, while DeSantis enjoyed a smashing victory.
Indeed, there was a red wave alright, but it began and ended in Florida. The rest of America, by contrast, saw only a weak and unimpressive Trumpian drizzle.
The Republicans barely captured the House of Representatives and they lost every competitive Senate race save for Wisconsin (a real squeaker), Nevada (still too close to call), and Georgia (headed to a runoff election in December).
DeSantis, by contrast, won nearly 60 percent of the vote, while winning the Hispanic vote and the Democratic stronghold of Miami-Dade County.
For Republicans, the implications are crystal clear. If they want to win the presidency in 2024, they have only one viable option: They must eschew Donald Trump, who is a political loser, and embrace Ron DeSantis, who is a political winner.
It really is that simple and that obvious, and the Republicans nationwide know it.
Donald Trump. Even Trump knows it, which is why it is doubtful now he even runs. But if he does run, DeSantis will clean his clock in the primaries: because the Republicans want to win, not lose, the presidency.
I don’t expect DeSantis to announce that he is running for president until next fall, a year from now. He owes that to the people of Florida, who overwhelmingly reelected him as their governor.
Executive Experience. Waiting also will help DeSantis to secure the 2024 presidential nomination. His greatest calling card, after all, is his executive record and his executive experience. As a governor, he gets things done. He solves real problems for real people.
Other politicians, like Trump, talk a good game, but they don’t run anything other than their mouths.
DeSantis, by contrast, runs the state of Florida and he runs it extraordinarily well. That’s why, throughout the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Americans moved to Florida: to enjoy the bountiful opportunities accorded by that state under his leadership.
The more the American people see DeSantis doing his job, the better off he will be, politically, for 2024. He has time to declare his candidacy, and he should bide his time and take his time before announcing that he’s running.
The reality is: no other potential candidate can match DeSantis’ record of accomplishment. The nomination is his for the asking and his to lose, and he will take it, by near-universal acclamation. It is only a matter of time.
Trump is yesterday; DeSantis is tomorrow; and a 2024 GOP presidential victory lies within reach. That’s what we learned last night, and that’s what the Republicans’ dismal 2022 performance means for 2024.
The GOP lost yesterday because of Donald Trump, but it will win tomorrow because of Ron DeSantis. Stay tuned. You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Feature photo credit: Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, courtesy of Fox News.
