A.G. Gancarski
Ron DeSantis is waxing pessimistic about the Iowa caucuses as a bad portent for the Republican Party.
During an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show, the Governor who spent months in the state only to get 21% and carry no counties suggested that performance was due to a larger malaise in the party.
“Clearly, when you win Iowa by the amount (Donald Trump) did, you know, that’s what you want to be doing if you’re going to win the nomination. But you know, half the Iowans voted for someone else. And the turnout was so abysmal, and I don’t think it was just the weather,” he said.
DeSantis noted that there were only “110,000 people that showed up.”
He added that “186,000 voted in 2016. But there were 20,000 independents and 7,000 Democrats, mostly voting for (Nikki) Haley. So that means there were about, less than 85,000 Republicans even participated. I think that’s a warning sign for the party going forward into the Fall.”
DeSantis also believes that “negative” advertising “turned some people off from even participating.”
“I think there’s some other folks who were just like, well, you know, media says Trump’s got it, and so they just kind of checked out from the process. So it was not a good, I think, night for Republicans if you’re looking forward to November of 2024.”
DeSantis also suggested he wouldn’t run indefinitely if it looked hopeless.
“I’m in it to win it, and at some point, you know, if that’s not working out for you, like, I recognize that. This isn’t a vanity thing for me. But I do believe that we have an opportunity in November to do very, very well. I also think that there’s pitfalls by choosing the course that the party faithful chose in Iowa. And I don’t think any of that’s changed.”
DeSantis did not suggest directly, as he did earlier this week, that early calls of the caucus by media organizations amounted to election interference.
“The media was against us. They were writing our obituary months ago. They even called the election before people even got a chance to vote,” he told supporters Monday.
DeSantis later added that “whether it changed votes or not is irrelevant,” but did also say that “some people decided to walk out and when you talk about a proportional delegate situation, you know, that could have shifted a delegate or two.”
4 comments
OnlyFansEarl from The Villages
January 18, 2024 at 1:09 pm
Ronny do be right about that; you Qanon groomers are gonna take it in the a$$ in November
JD
January 18, 2024 at 9:16 pm
I think I concur, and that people are pissed off. Also, the Democrats are going to mobilize moderates to their cause to garner NPAs.
The BananaRepublicans will probably try to act “moderate” (at least the smart ones), and the dumb ones will double down on anti-woke BS (but that’s run its course at least in FL).
However, the damage is done. The Republicans are not trusted any longer (as much as anyone trusted politicians).
It’s sad, because the same playbook is being run in TN with the school voucher scams, Americans for Prosperity (Koch Klan), and Moms for Liberty.
Ah, the shameless GOP and unoriginal. No wonder they can’t govern.
Lex
January 19, 2024 at 8:00 am
The election prognosticators will all be floored when Michelle Obama is the Democratic Presidential candidate and Trump has been found guilty in Atlanta and DC. Trump was a great president, but he turns off a good portion of Republicans and almost all Independents with his harsh rhetoric. Desantis has essentially the same policies, is gentlemanly in demeanor, and is electable. Desantis turned Florida from Purple to Red. This is not going to be a slam dunk election and Trump is actually much less electable than Desantis.
JD
January 19, 2024 at 9:06 am
Trump was at best a mediocre president because the economy was on auto-pilot and all the foreign nasties were hunkered down (by luck, not any fear of him).
He could have rolled into another 4 years easily if the pandemic did hit and he didn’t botch the response. But he threw away that playbook.
He could have been a contender for 2024 had his galaxy sized ego allowed him to gracefully exit with some decorum class instead of dictator-ism and crass. He’s reaping what he sowed. Let’s hope the contents of his diaper can fertilized the weeds he planted.
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