Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is expected to come under increasing pressure to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 after rolling to a reelection victory Tuesday on a night when much of the GOP was licking its wounds.
Chants of “two more years” rang out at his victory rally late Tuesday, a nod to his status as the rising GOP national star and the one Republican who many believe could conquer former President Trump in a primary fight.
Many Republicans also see DeSantis as a stronger general election candidate than Trump, whether that contest is against President Biden or some other Democrat.
“DeSantis made a convincing case that he, rather than Trump, gives Republicans the best chance to defeat Biden (or some other Democrat) in 2024,” Scott Jennings, a former adviser to former President George W. Bush and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), wrote in a CNN op-ed on Wednesday.
In coasting to victory in Florida, DeSantis flipped traditionally Democratic Miami-Dade County en route to a 20-point win.
Trump, meanwhile, saw Mehmet Oz (R) lose in Pennsylvania’s Senate race after the former president helped carry him across the finish line in a competitive primary earlier this year. Trump-backed gubernatorial candidates in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin lost their races, and high-profile Trump endorsees in Arizona and Georgia were locked in close races.
One GOP strategist who worked on midterm races this cycle said DeSantis “must run” in 2024, saying he has a good argument based on his four years as governor and sweeping reelection win.
Trump is poised to announce his own bid for the White House next week, but he may enter that contest in a more vulnerable position than before, given DeSantis’s growing muscle.
The cover of the right-leaning New York Post on Wednesday read: “DEFUTURE: Young GOP star romps to victory in Florida.”
Fox News carried DeSantis’s victory speech live, covered the governor’s win extensively on Wednesday and published an op-ed on Wednesday titled “Ron DeSantis is the new Republican Party leader.”
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DeSantis may face renewed pressure to take on Trump https://t.co/tw0ALlwAd1 pic.twitter.com/moIndTwBwH
— The Hill (@thehill) November 10, 2022
Rupert goes all in. https://t.co/X7bqtQUAmz
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) November 10, 2022
Donald Trump, 8:01pm email on Wednesday after the midterm election pic.twitter.com/BMM6vbQdIN
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) November 10, 2022
As I've been saying, this guy has a glass jaw. Watching even Charlie Crist put him on reset in a debate told us a lot. https://t.co/3yGDCjYfvR
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) November 10, 2022
Because this is who Don is, has been, and always will be. https://t.co/3Ih7Ns47md
— John Schindler (@20committee) November 9, 2022
As usual, I remind you that this man had codes to the American nuclear arsenal https://t.co/C3L8o5C2fT
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) November 10, 2022
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