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Why DeSantis FINALLY pulled the plug: Florida governor was given internal polling showing him facing a crushing defeat in South Carolina where he had focused all his resources - and told he had no path to the White House
Daily Mail ^ | 1.21.2024 | Rob Crilly

Posted on 01/21/2024 4:27:07 PM PST by libh8er

Ron DeSantis had given up on New Hampshire, turning his campaign towards the more conservative state of South Carolina.

But on Saturday, he was given internal polling data that showed he had no chance of winning the state and would finish far behind former President Donald Trump, according to two sources familiar with discussions.

His aides canceled appearances on the Sunday morning shows as they debated what to do next.

And on Sunday afternoon, the Florida governor formally pulled the plug on his 2024 campaign.

'I can't ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources, if we don't have a clear path to victory,' he said.

The decision took donors and staff at a super PAC backing DeSantis by surprise.

They were traveling to New Hampshire as part of the last push before voters in the state made their decision.

But his prospects there were bleak.

A poll published Sunday morning found he was on course for just six percent of the vote, behind Trump on 50 percent and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on 39 points.

He was already digesting difficult numbers from South Carolina, where he had hoped to get his campaign back on track and where he campaigned at the weekend.

'I think that was the reason for the timing,' said a source familiar with discussions.

A second source close to the DeSantis camp told DailyMail.com: 'They were struggling to explain what the path to the nomination would even look like. That's how bad things were.'

The announcement came hours after Trump had delivered his own South Carolina show of strength.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: desantis; nh; nowbackeddown; overanddone; sc
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To: newfreep

I said desantis not Santis


21 posted on 01/21/2024 4:46:43 PM PST by forYourChildrenVote4Bush
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To: mass55th

“nobody wanted to blow anymore money on a loser.”

Lol.

They are gonna double down on Nikita. She could easily blow through a billion dollars of fatcat money before this is over with nothing to show for it but a few delegates, a participation trophy and a lifetime of favorable press coverage she can show her grand-children.


22 posted on 01/21/2024 4:48:55 PM PST by cgbg ("Our democracy" = Their Kleptocracy)
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To: forYourChildrenVote4Bush
I don't think a sitting governor is a good fit for Secretary of State. It's the one cabinet post where I have a hard time envisioning an ideal person to fill it.

One somewhat outlandish candidate could be Peter Navarro.

23 posted on 01/21/2024 4:49:43 PM PST by Alberta's Child (If something in government doesn’t make sense, you can be sure it makes dollars.)
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To: libh8er

Ron DeSantis was the GOPe last ditch effort to unseat Trump
as the winner of the nomination. They haven’t stood with him
since June of 2015, so big surprise there.

What I do expect from people I want to support, is someone
who will not take money from these creatures of the swamp
to help them defeat their perceived “BIGGEST THREAT”.

I do not view that as honorable.

I see lots of people dropping by to declare how honorable
Ron has been. I sure don’t agree with you folks.

I saw no MAGA gravitas at all in this man. Trump stood
head and shoulders above him. Ron destroyed the respect
I had for him going in.

Going in, I had hoped he wouldn’t run. He was a shoe-in
for VP and 2028 (in my view). I knew that if he ran
against Trump, it was going to require him to take shots
at the man the vast majority of us want. How was that
supposed to burnish the perception of DeSantis?

Never has it been more clear who we need in this trying
time, and it’s not Ron DeSantis. It never was.

Ron’s numbers were nowhere near him taking Trump down.

I had hoped he would grasp that early on, but by golly
he couldn’t discern that.

Do I want a guy that is that out of touch with reality?

When it comes to global dynamics, is this out of touch
man that most of us respected quite a bit last year,
really the guy who can read the tea leaves better than
say Trump? No!

Ron, I’m sorry but I don’t see you as a come back Reagan
or even Nixon. They never changed a word of their message
from the time they looked like they couldn’t have ever
won after that.

Ron did, by going after Trump. He relished faulting Trump,
the man most of us respected.

I will not ever be supporting Ron DeSantis again.


24 posted on 01/21/2024 4:52:03 PM PST by DoughtyOne (I pledge allegiance to the flag of the USofA & to the Constitutional REPUBLIC for which it stands.)
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To: forYourChildrenVote4Bush
I would disagree with DeSantis being the best speaker.

Actually he was awful. Stiff as a board. Total cringe.

The ridiculous boots with the high heels embedded inside of them was also a bad move. Sort of like Mike Dukakis standing on phone books during the 1988 debates.

He should have focuses on his actual job, one the voters of Florida re-elected him for last year. Should have endorsed Trump for the 2024 election and focused on 2028.

That would have given him four more years to improve his speaking skills. Actually, what he needs to do is be himself.

25 posted on 01/21/2024 4:53:48 PM PST by SamAdams76 (6,508,933 Truth | 87,456,907 Twitter)
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To: Alberta's Child

I agree with that. But with Pence we can see what a VP can do to cause a lot of damage if he isn’t really behind the Prez.


26 posted on 01/21/2024 4:54:19 PM PST by dforest
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To: SamAdams76

“what he needs to do is be himself”

One of my many issues with DeSantis is I could not figure out what that might look like.

It might be good—or bad—no clue.


27 posted on 01/21/2024 4:55:34 PM PST by cgbg ("Our democracy" = Their Kleptocracy)
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To: No name given

I would have loved to have Ron DeSantis as the nominee. Now I’m hoping Donald Trump will pick him for either a cabinet position or his running mate.

******************

The Trump/DeSantis ‘deal’ should’ve been done a year ago at Mar-a-Lago, instead we had to waste time & money on an illusion.
Also, Orange Man needs to slowly resuscitate the kid from Florida, while quickly destroying Haley.(She won’t be around long.)

Do I want DeSantis as a VP?

Not necessarily, but I don’t want his political career destroyed because of a historically “bad move.”


28 posted on 01/21/2024 5:01:57 PM PST by unclebankster ( Globalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.)
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To: MinorityRepublican

Ron will never be President.
He could be a Senator, like Lying Ted.


29 posted on 01/21/2024 5:04:23 PM PST by tennmountainman ( (“Less propaganda would be appreciated.” JimRob 12-2-2023 DITTO)
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To: DoughtyOne

Well we won’t hold you to it Doughty.


30 posted on 01/21/2024 5:07:36 PM PST by Theophilus (covfefe)
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To: No name given
Thats cute. This assH*le shouldnt be hired to shovel the snow. Sorry ya LOST!
31 posted on 01/21/2024 5:11:40 PM PST by MotorCityBuck (Keep the change, you are filthy animal! )
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To: tennmountainman

If Trump wins, I’ll prefer DeSantis to become the Secretary of Defense. A lot to clean up in the bureaucracy with the woke crap. Maybe he’ll get the white males to sign up again.


32 posted on 01/21/2024 5:14:54 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: Seaplaner

DeSantis should have waited four years. He gained nothing by running this year.


33 posted on 01/21/2024 5:18:13 PM PST by yldstrk
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To: libh8er

Executives are judged by the decisions t make. RDS has made many good ones as governor and a really bad one when he decided to run for President. Which decision will weigh more heavily on his political future is impossible to predict at this time.

Good executives fail all the time. Past results are no indication of future performance.


34 posted on 01/21/2024 5:19:04 PM PST by bigbob
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To: Theophilus
Theophilus, thanks my good FRiend, you da forward-thinking Conservative.

Kind regards and now hoping that Mister Trump can prevail over whomever the Dems plan to surprise us with in Nov (My guess, Moochelle).

And, as an aside, might Trump, with an uncommon display of wisdom, pick Gov DeSantis for Veep?

(Only if he wants to win in Nov. We'll see.)

35 posted on 01/21/2024 5:19:52 PM PST by Seaplaner (Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never...in nothing, great or small...Winston ChurchIill)
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To: No name given

Cabinet position would be nice.


36 posted on 01/21/2024 5:22:23 PM PST by mouse1
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To: mouse1

Cabinet position would be nice.


Ministry of Silly Walks.


37 posted on 01/21/2024 5:23:28 PM PST by Reverend Wright ( Everything touched by progressives, dies !)
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To: mouse1

Desantis would be silly to accept a cabinet post in a Trump administration. Trump would fire him within 18 months and trash him just like he did in the primary. Better for Desantis to finish his current term and then either run for Senate or spend the next 2 years building a better organization for 2028.

I think Trump will have a problem finding any serious, qualified candidates willing to take positions in his administration after seeing how people in his last administration were treated and what happened to the professionally after they left office.


38 posted on 01/21/2024 5:27:38 PM PST by CA Conservative (Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I am free at last)
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To: forYourChildrenVote4Bush

Rhonda Santis...THE ESTABLISHMENT CHOICE


39 posted on 01/21/2024 5:27:43 PM PST by newfreep ("There is no race problem...just a problem race")
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To: libh8er

Probably true.


40 posted on 01/21/2024 5:40:46 PM PST by Recovering_Democrat
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