Ron DeSantis emerges as Trump’s rival for next White House race

For the first time since being ousted, the former president has come second in a survey of who Republican voters would like as their candidate.

Ron DeSantis, centre, has hitherto been seen as an ally of the former president. Picture: AFP

If one state has come to epitomise the Republican Party in the era of Donald Trump, it is Florida. It is his home and powerbase, but could it also be where he loses his bid to return to the White House?

The Mar-a-Lago resort, in Palm Beach, was where Trump, 75, went to lick his wounds after the election he claims he did not lose. He remains easily the most powerful Republican in the country.

“There is no question that Florida is the epicentre of conservative politics,” said Joe Gruters, the party chairman in the state. “The president is the leader of his new conservative movement. We’re super-excited to have him here, and no matter what he does the people of Florida will be with him. This is a state that loves the former president, loves his policies.”

Poll after poll since November’s presidential election shows that if Trump wants another crack at the White House in 2024, the party will have eyes only for him. That is, all but one poll.

Last week, for the first time since being ousted, Trump came second in a survey of who Republican voters would like as their candidate. It is only one poll, and the sample was small, but the man who topped it was both close to home and a politician seen even by Mr Trump as his natural successor: Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Governor.

Mr DeSantis, 42, is on manoeuvres. A few weeks ago he sent party faithful his campaign literature for re-election as governor in 2022. “The power-hungry Democrats, big-tech billionaires, and liberal media want to silence conservatives like us,” he wrote. He added, however, that “the direction of the Republican Party is totally up for grabs” and talked about healing its internal wounds. That sent speculation soaring.

Mr DeSantis has hitherto been seen as an ally of the former president. A fellow traveller ideologically, he has endorsed many of Mr Trump’s policies. He is anti-abortion, anti-big government and when the special investigator, Robert Mueller, probed links to Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, Mr DeSantis was one of his biggest critics.

Married to a former presenter of a golf television channel, Mr De­Santis is a father of three, a graduate of Harvard and Yale, and a former navy lawyer who served in congress before becoming America’s youngest governor. Could he also try to become one of the youngest presidents in 2024 when Trump will be 78 and Joe Biden almost 82? Some conservatives think Mr DeSantis is already trying to hasten Mr Trump out of the picture. For Myra Adams, a Republican commentator and former staffer, the campaign literature is the biggest clue. “It is interesting that besides the photo of Mr DeSantis on the envelope, the only inside photo is of Mr Trump and the Governor on the donate page,” she wrote on The Hill website. “The mailer proves that DeSantis is a brilliant player, positioning himself as the (party’s) future while only lightly kissing the ring of his creator.”

Others have dismissed the speculation. “President Trump will be the nominee if he decides to be the nominee,” Mr Gruters said.

Would Mr DeSantis be willing to wait? A poll by the Trafalgar Group in May put him miles ahead of a Trump-free field of Republican hopefuls for 2024. That followed polls in March from the first states to hold primaries, Iowa and New Hampshire, which put Mr DeSantis clear of all comers if Mr Trump was not running.

It is early days, and without a convincing win in the gubernatorial poll next year Mr DeSantis will suddenly look like a dud. He may also decide that, should the former president decide to stand again, he has time on his side and that taking on Mr Trump is a battle he does not need to fight.

Whatever he decides, Mr Trump did Mr DeSantis a favour by making Mar-a-Lago the “winter White House”. Florida is a magnet for conservative Republicans, and those with big wallets. Newsmax, the conservative television station, is based nearby, while former party staffers have set up campaign firms there. Some Fox News presenters have even bought homes to be closer to the former president.

“It’s a full-on migration,” Sean Spicer, the former White House press secretary, told Bloomberg Businessweek.

“It’s like Disney World. I can ... go to see the president, go to a fundraiser, and do eight other things while I’m down there.”

While Republicans may “go to see the president”, many will leave with no idea of his intentions.

Mr Trump has promised to keep his followers in suspense until after the congressional midterm elections next year. Perhaps he will – uncharacteristically – decide that he is too old for the top job and back Mr DeSantis.

Republicans will not start to pick their candidate for two-and-a-half years yet, and a lot of politics will happen in the meantime.

Assuming that Mr DeSantis holds on to the governor’s mansion next year, he will be a contender, but so will Mr Trump.

The Sunday Times