Ron DeSantis says he’s been on the campaign trail for ‘9 months’

DeSantis LeMans Iowa
Just how long has the Governor been running for the presidency anyway?

Ron DeSantis sounds like he’s starting to lose track of how long the presidential campaign has been, with just one day before Iowans finally vote in the caucuses.

During remarks Sunday in Dubuque, the Florida Governor seemingly overstated the length of time he’s been on the trail during his second term.

“And I’ve gone, not only to all 99 counties in Iowa, we’ve been all over New Hampshire, South Carolina. We’ve been all over the country in the last nine months or six months,” DeSantis said.

It’s unclear why the Governor initially said he had been all over the country for the last nine months as a candidate given that he launched his campaign in late May. That said, he began his tour in support of his memoir, “The Courage to be Free,” last March, roughly 10 months ago, so perhaps that was the reference point.

DeSantis’ long-running travels also featured into at least one speaker’s introductory remarks.

“He basically moved into Iowa over these last several months to earn your support,” Rep. Chip Roy said.

Despite having “moved” into Iowa, recent polls suggest that hasn’t moved voters necessarily.

In the final Des Moines Register poll ahead of Monday’s vote, the Florida Governor has 16%. That puts him behind Nikki Haley (20%), and way behind Donald Trump (48%).

Haley and DeSantis were tied at 17% in an InsiderAdvantage poll released Friday, each with a third of Trump’s support. That was a better survey for the Governor than either of the two that came out on Thursday, both of which showed DeSantis down by 41 points.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. He writes for the New York Post and National Review also, with previous work in the American Conservative and Washington Times and a 15+ year run as a columnist in Folio Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


14 comments

  • NSB

    January 14, 2024 at 2:25 pm

    So, 10 months of collecting a paycheck from his constituents while living in another state and being derelict in the duties he was an elected and is paid for?

  • PeterH

    January 14, 2024 at 2:53 pm

    DeSantis is full of …… magical thinking! A typical MAGA clown. Pack up the big tent for this one!

  • Andy

    January 14, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    Isn’t it ironic, the GOP who says they are fiscally conservative, allow Florida taxpayers to pay for an absent Governor, and then pay the highest insurance premiums in the Country, highest Condo fees in the Country, just so the insurance companies, and shabby contractors can donate huge sums of money to fund huis losing campaign! Where is our freedom from higher costs, and an accountable government?

    • Trump’s Howler 🙈 Proud Bois of FL

      January 14, 2024 at 4:13 pm

      He is freeing you of your assets…

    • Impeach Biden

      January 14, 2024 at 7:35 pm

      Just curious. Do you think by chance that since maybe we live in a hurricane belt that it might contribute to our high insurance rates? Look at the claims history on property insurance here in Florida and then let’s not forget the insurance fraud with contractors and slip and fall scammers.

      • Marvin M.

        January 14, 2024 at 10:09 pm

        Let’s also not forget who has been in control of Florida state policies for the last thirty years. Republicans.
        Not just the governor, but for most of that time, a Republican compliant legislature.
        If you do not like how things are in Florida right now, place blame where it belongs – on the Republican dominated Florida Legislature.

      • Tom

        January 15, 2024 at 8:09 am

        And yet he gets up there wondering why climate protesters are protesting when it’s freezing cold because he’s too stupid to know the difference between climate and weather.
        Also, everytime you turn on the TV there are ads for the ambulance chasers promising multimillion dollar payouts. He could put an end to that and insurance prices would go down but he’s bought and paid for by their lobbyists. He’s useless and sadly we have to take him back when he drops out.

  • Trump’s Howler 🙈 Proud Bois of FL

    January 14, 2024 at 4:12 pm

    “Ya know, I only fly economy and I rent Ford Focus or similar hatchbacks.”

  • Not surprising

    January 14, 2024 at 4:42 pm

    He’s just admitting that he was actually running prior to legally declaring his candidacy; an inveterate lawbreaker.

  • Impeach Biden

    January 14, 2024 at 6:26 pm

    DeSantis would be an excellent president. This country really needs a guy like him. Meanwhile at the senior citizens facility in DC we have the blathering, mumbling, cue card reading idiot. Yet you zombies support him. Unbelievable.

    • JD

      January 15, 2024 at 7:39 am

      Joe Biden has been an excellent president (I can name two dozen things he’s accomplished or helped along). Tell us one policy Desantis signed that enriched the lives of average Floridians? Kitchen table, real issues. The country doesn’t need a guy like him. Meanwhile his social media czarina is an evil, problem manufacturing foreign agent. Yet you zombies support him. Unbelievable.

    • C

      January 15, 2024 at 4:40 pm

      Joke post? Yep, the guy who attacks the biggest employer of the state that pays the most in taxes and brings in millions of tourists and millions of dollars to the their state….it a fool…
      And as a president he would be an even bigger fool.

  • Dont Say FLA

    January 15, 2024 at 9:47 am

    9 months, huh.

    That is full term. It’s official. Rhonda didn’t abort.

    Now push that dead baby out and go directly to prison for abuse of a corpse, Rhonda

  • Dancing Outlaw

    January 15, 2024 at 9:50 am

    InsiderAdvantage? That’s just one of those ex-politico places that does laundry for current office holders.

Comments are closed.


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