Fresh Start: This Time He’s READY!

(DailyVantage.com) – Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida is beginning a new phase of his 2024 presidential campaign for the Republican nomination in order to deal with the stagnant polling numbers he has received that have largely not changed since May and have plummeted since the beginning of this year.

After DeSantis’ appearance at the Family Leadership Summit, Former FOX News anchor and current podcast host Megyn Kelly offered some advice to his campaign in an interview. Kelly said Desantis should respond to adversarial media directly in order to regain lost momentum. The Florida governor will soon appear on CNN’s Jake Tapper after having largely only appeared on conservative media outlets to appeal to Republican primary voters.

Following the November midterm elections, where DeSantis won by about 20 points in his re-election to the Governorship in what was previously considered a state that had more of a swing state environment, DeSantis was polling at or above former President Donald Trump. Now, Trump has about an average of 30 points on DeSantis, according to aggregated polling on FiveThirtyEight.

While Trump’s legal problems have incentivized a wider field of candidates to throw their hat into the Republican primary ring, DeSantis remains the only competitive candidate, with the rest of the field polling in the single digits or below.

Trump’s Super PAC has spent more than $20 million in ads attacking DeSantis, and DeSantis’ campaign remains third in quantity donated, behind Trump and President Biden. However, trouble could be ahead for the DeSantis campaign. While Trump has averaged about $30 per donation, most of DeSantis’ money comes from donors who give the maximum allowed and are unable to give again.

There is still a lot of time left on the campaign trail before the primary voting commences. Candidates will likely adjust their positions in response to feedback from potential voters and polls. As the race nears, voters tend to scrutinize candidates and their positions much more closely; a once-popular frontrunner may slip behind a competitor as voter sentiment changes.