Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis continues his run for his party’s presidential nomination for 2024, but his campaign continues to stumble.
New polling from YouGov and The Economist shows that only about one-third of Americans in general view the southeastern governor favorably, which would help create the picture of his general election chances if he did eventually make it out of the primary, and it’s not looking good. The survey, completed August 29, found 19 percent saying they viewed him “somewhat” favorably and 14 percent saying their perspective was “very” favorable, combining to total just 33 percent. Those viewing DeSantis unfavorably at either level of intensity were at 50 percent of the overall total of respondents.
Among those identified as independents, only 27 percent said they viewed DeSantis favorably at either level of intensity, making it clear that there’s simply not some groundswell of support for the governor materializing among Americans.
DeSantis is known for allying himself with far-right positions on major “culture war” issues. He even signed a bathroom bill, meaning a set of restrictions on the usage by transgender individuals of public restrooms in the state, and the governor has infamously presided over the implementation of a set of near-blanket restrictions on discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in all public school grades before college. He opposed content meant for the Advanced Placement (AP) course in African American studies for high school students, and he’s championed greater permissions for carrying firearms without a permit — and the list goes on.
Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting the DeSantis campaign, recently ended door-to-door efforts in several states prominent in the early parts of the primary calendar, including Texas and California — though the team blamed issues including rule changes that could make it easier for Trump to sweep those particular contests. In California, for instance, Republicans are moving towards a winner-take-all system for convention delegates hailing from the state, making it more difficult for second-place candidates to make inroads — though the whole situation is still positioned to add to the image the DeSantis team is struggling. (The California changes would specifically give a candidate all the state’s delegate spots if they pass 50 percent in primary results.)
