DeSantis’ Future: He Doesn’t Have One

Ron DeSantis’ “Incredible Shrinking Presidential Campaign” is a walking corpse. We all know it. It’s possible even Ron and his wife/campaign manager Casey know it too. That’s hard to say as many an individual who seemed like they had a real shot remain clueless until the very end. Sometimes ever afterwards. Still, DeSantis has suffered more than serious drops in the polls, he’s lost/gone through a lot of campaign staffers but more importantly donors. He might once have been the hope of the big money donors who wanted someone to grab the GOP from Trump’s stubby fingered hands but they’ve abandoned him in droves. Nikki Haley is looking more and more like the “please, someone ANYONE but Trump make an actual challenge” candidate. In reality, Watergate’s “Deep Throat” never uttered the line “follow the money” made famous in the movie but in the real world it’s actually pretty useful to both prosecutors AND those who track the ebbs and flows of political campaigns. And careers.

That brings me to a short piece from Raw Story I saw earlier today. It takes a look at the question of what’s next for DeSantis when the inevitable happens and he “suspends” his campaign.  It concludes Ron (and Casey’s) future is bleak:

Any hope Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) might have had that he could beat Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican Party’s presidential nomination appears all but dead — and that could mean his political future will meet the same fate, according to a report.

Just to remind everyone the high water mark of DeSantis’ bid to take over the GOP was before he actually formally declared. Like many a Presidential aspirant he campaigned for the office prior to actually filing the paperwork. There are reasons as to the timing of why a given candidate will make things “Official” (or not) but in DeSantis’ case part of it had to do, so it was claimed because of a FL law that prevented him from being governor while running for another office. Of course, given his iron fisted control over Florida politics and the Florida legislature that law could have been changed whenever he wanted. That he finally did get it done was a sign he was in trouble. He was bleeding in the polls and needed to officially become a candidate to unlock resources that would enable him to get out and campaign even more.

Of course, he’s already made some appearances. You know the jokes. The ones about the more people outside Florida saw of him the less they liked him. As it has turned out the worst thing DeSantis could have done for his campaign was to actually campaign! However, as much as he evoked dislike elsewhere, it seems he’s done so back home in Florida. Or at least has self-inflicted enough damage to his stature that folks there are willing to speak up:

The report from NPR states that a substantial number of Florida Republican voters have been repulsed by his decision to challenge the former president, and now he faces being termed out as governor with nowhere to go in 2026.

The article goes on to note that despite his landslide re-election victory a couple of years ago he not only hasn’t been able to gain support he’s turned people off. At a Trump rally in Hialeah, Florida voter Sally Maltais was quoted saying, “He backstabbed our president. And now I have no respect for DeSantis. I’m sorry. I don’t. I won’t vote for him again.” Ok, so that’s from a true Trump MAGA type. What’s more interesting is that others including in that heretofore lapdog legislature are speaking up. GOP state Rep. Randy Fine says DeSantis has few options since he’s “termed out” and that he wanted to run now as a sitting governor rather than (presumably in 2028) as a former one. I can see why given the Disney fiasco and other matters will have taken even more shine off any that might be left on DeSantis by then. He can’t run for governor again and Fine thinks he can’t even move up even to Senator:

“I mean, Rick Scott is our senator,” he elaborated. “Marco Rubio is our senator. I don’t see either of them going anywhere. And so there’s no kind of obvious off ramp for him to go when his term as governor is finished.”

Folks, especially GOP politicians in Florida are still hesitant to go on the record but I’ve seen rumblings that Fine isn’t the only one who thinks DeSantis is done. That he has nowhere to go. DeSantis has increasingly become the butt of jokes and so has his wife Casey who envisioned herself as the new Jackie Kennedy. Where are they to go? What are they to do? It’s possible, if not likely Florida will NOT want them around anymore.

I do however have a suggestion. Get out of Florida. In fact get away as far as you can. Geographically speaking Florida is the extreme southeast state. The extreme northwest state is… Alaska! And I know the perfect place for Ron and Casey to disappear and live out the rest of their days. Ketchikan. To refresh your memories the place got its proverbial fifteen minutes of fame during the 2008 Presidential campaign due to then Governor Sarah Palin’s support (while campaigning for governor) and then withdrawal of said support for the infamous (and expensive to the tune over $300 million dollars) bridge to Gravina Island (population – 50) which became known as the “Bridge to Nowhere.”

It was Ted Stevens and Don Young who got the federal earmark for the ill-fated project but Palin supported it. Until she didn’t. During the Presidential campaign she painted herself as being “responsible” about rejecting federal money for boondoggles. The bridge funding did get cancelled. But you know what? There was still $25 million in federal money still available to build a road to the Bridge to Nowhere that wasn’t going to be built after all. So Palin went ahead and spent it! On a road literally to nowhere.

I don’t know about you but that seems the perfect spot for Ron and Casey to build a “dream home” for their early retirement. If he has enough sense to drop out of the Presidential race before racking up a bunch of campaign debt.