A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis has spent much more time in Texas in recent years than Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but both of them are afterthoughts in who Republicans there want for President.
That’s according to a fresh poll of Lone Star State Republicans from Emerson College. The survey finds both Florida men knotted at a dismal 6% and tied for third place behind Vice President JD Vance at 45% and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at 9%.
DeSantis and Rubio continue to perform similarly in many polls of the still-conceptual contest. A national Rasmussen survey had them at 10% each this week.
The Governor devoted a lot of time to courting Texas Republicans in 2023 when he was running for President. He held fundraising events in six cities, and delivered stern messages about illegal immigration, though he never caught fire in polls despite these efforts.
Notably, he vowed to use “deadly force” via the U.S. military against border crossers when asked about his strategy during a news conference after his campaign event, saying that if some “cartel operatives” got “dropped,” it would change their attitude.
DeSantis also sent the State Guard and National Guard to the state in 2024 to help Gov. Greg Abbott with border enforcement.
Florida taxpayers also footed the bill in 2022 to fly illegal immigrants from Texas to Massachusetts. The flights via a connected charter flight company cost taxpayers roughly $35,000 per traveler.
Central to the scheme was a Texas woman named Perla Huerta, who recruited migrants from Texas to fly under the promise of help with immigration claims and job services.
Yet despite all these efforts aided and abetted by his command of the levers of Florida government, it appears Texas Republicans resoundingly want another option.
