While most observers would probably say yes, other candidates have emerged who are threatening to steal the spotlight and offer a new and improved version of Trumpism. Few politicians have garnered as much attention as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The governor, who has recently been featured in magazines such as The New Yorker, is currently considered the most serious threat to a Trump reelection bid.
In a new poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire, DeSantis comes out on top among likely GOP primary voters in the Granite State at 39%, with Trump at 37%.
To top it off, DeSantis is not planning to seek Trump’s endorsement for his reelection campaign as governor, according to a Politico report, fueling speculation that he could be gearing up to run against the former president for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
There is good reason for Trump to be worried. When it comes to both policy and rhetoric, DeSantis can fit comfortably within the orbit of the modern GOP, having promoted some of the core themes and talking points that came to the surface during the Trump presidency. During the pandemic, for example, DeSantis was at the center of the fight that emerged around Covid-19 precautions, and he signed a bill into law that prevented organizations from imposing vaccine mandates.
The governor has also pushed for stringent immigration policies, sought to deregulate businesses, railed against “critical race theory” and signed a bill to prevent certain instruction about sexual orientation and gender in classrooms.
Many Republicans liked the fighting, anti-establishment mentality that Trump brought to the White House. But DeSantis has an aggressive posture to match, and his governing style meshes well with the combative attitude of the Republican electorate.
So what might give DeSantis an edge over Trump among Republican voters?
The Florida governor, who was educated at Yale and Harvard Law School, has displayed a grasp of public policy and governance that Trump has never shown. As Dexter Filkins writes in the New Yorker, “Both men claim to channel the rage of an electorate that feels sneered at and dismissed by liberal institutions. But while Trump, with his lazy, Barnumesque persona, projects a fundamental lack of seriousness, DeSantis has an intense work ethic, a formidable intelligence, and granular understanding of policy.” Though many Trump supporters dismiss the importance of expertise, there would still be great political…
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