Ron DeSantis Is Losing Momentum, Falls Further Behind

(UnitedVoice.com) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) was once neck-and-neck with former President Donald Trump. After the 2022 midterms, when many of Trump’s candidates lost and almost all of DeSantis’ won, Republicans started to view the governor as the political heir to the former president. It appears that’s all changed.

On September 20, a Fox Business poll of the primary race in South Carolina showed DeSantis is still in third place, and he’s losing ground. In July, the Florida governor was polling in third place too, but with 13% of the vote. Now, only 10% of Conservative voters in the Palmetto State have said they’d vote for him. He’s trailing behind Trump, who is in first place, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

In Iowa, the latest Trafalgar Group poll shows DeSantis in second place with 16% of the vote and Trump in first with 48.6%. That is especially troublesome for the governor because he’s campaigning hard in that state. With five months left until the Iowa caucuses, DeSantis has visited 58 of the state’s 99 counties. He’s meeting with voters, gaining endorsements, and his super PAC is spending millions, yet still, he’s trailing Trump by more than 30 points.

What’s worse is that DeSantis is trailing Trump in all of the Florida polls, as well. That’s significant, considering the governor sailed to reelection by the widest margin of any gubernatorial race in the state in four decades. But it appears DeSantis, who rose to power because of Trump’s support, is having a hard time getting out of his shadow.

Political experts and commentators have said DeSantis’ campaign made a number of significant missteps. Some believe the biggest mistake he made was not jumping into the race when he was doing well in the polls after his reelection campaign. Instead, he traveled to foreign countries to try to bolster his portfolio and waited months to announce.

Now, DeSantis is chasing after the most popular Republican president since Ronald Reagan — and he’s having a hard time catching up.