Staff Reports
According to Donald Trump's campaign, a crowded primary field will give him a clear path to the Republican nomination for president in 2024. Despite a recent series of national polls showing him trailing Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, the candidate's campaign believes that a strong primary will help him win.
According to several Trump advisers and operatives, support for Ron DeSantis will eventually erode as more Republican candidates get into the race for president. Three of them noted that a potential run by DeSantis resembles that of Scott Walker in 2016. Walker, who was the favorite to win the presidential race before dropping out, was the governor of Wisconsin at that time.
Despite the various polls showing Trump leading over DeSantis, insiders believe that the Florida governor will eventually lose the race due to the number of potential candidates who are running. Some of these include Mike Pence, the former vice president, Tim Scott, the senator from South Carolina, Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, and Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the UN.
According to one individual, Trump's supporters will not vote for anyone but the president, and the other candidates will dilute their support for DeSantis. They are also praying that former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley enters the race.
Despite the various controversies that have surrounded Trump's campaign, several polls have shown that his supporters still support the president.
A Morning Consult and Politics.com poll conducted from November 18 to 20 showed that Trump and DeSantis were leading the race with 45% and 30% respectively. Six other potential candidates, including Mike Pence, Mike Cruz, Tim Scott, and Nikki Haley, scored single-digit support.
A Morning Consult survey conducted in December also showed that Trump was leading the race with 48% and 33% respectively. Among the other potential candidates, Mike Pence, Mike Cruz, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Kristi Noem, and Greg Abbott were at 3% or less.
A survey conducted by Harvard-Harris from December 13 to 15 showed that Trump was leading the race by a margin of 23 points over DeSantis. Other potential candidates such as Mike Pence, Tim Scott, and Mike Pompeo were struggling.
According to the RealClearPolitics average, Trump leads the pack with a margin of 18.2 points. Among the other candidates, such as Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis, and Mike Scott, are struggling.
Trump's campaign claims that he has a huge cash advantage over his potential rival. In 2022, DeSantis raised a total of $200 million for his reelection campaign, but spent about half of it. He secured a landslide victory over Charlie Crist, a Democrat.
According to Trump operatives, the major donor of DeSantis' previous campaign was the National Governors Association. Over the next two years, the group gave him $20 million, which will serve as an "onetime infusion" for his campaign in 2024.
Trump is betting on the success of his past record when it comes to raising small-dollar donations, which he claimed has been an advantage over the other Republican candidates. During the month following his campaign's third announcement, his fundraising increased significantly, with a total of over $4 million being raised in just two weeks. Despite his enormous cash advantage, Trump only had about $13 million available for 2024.
A source claimed that if DeSantis decides to run for governor in the spring of 2023, he would have a hard time raising money and would most likely drop out of the race before the primary season begins.
