DeSantis Stuck in Cruz Control

Is he headed for the same finish?

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a Midland County Republican Party event on April 6, 2023, in Midland, Michigan. (Photo by Chris duMond/Getty Images)

The Republican challenges in picking a nominee in 2024 shouldn’t be unfamiliar to anyone. They are not really that different from the rest of the party’s modern history. It’s just that the stakes are so damned high.

Samuel Johnson is said to have given a brutal critique to an aspiring writer who asked the old man to look at a manuscript: “I find much in this that is good, and much that is new; but that which is good is not new, and that which is new is not good.” 

So far, we might say the same of Ron DeSantis. 

The Florida governor looks like he has a bad case of Ted Cruz-itis: Overfunded and underwhelming. And he contracted the malady in much the same way. Like his 2016 forerunner, DeSantis has done a good job of convincing conservative donors and party elites that he has the special sauce for gulling yokels with culture war politics while still quietly delivering normal reformist policies and stable governance. 

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  1. Avatar photo
    Rlritt

    I was reading the Orlando newspaper and was curious about how they felt about DeSantis. There was not one positive comment about the Governor. They called him a communist for for his government takeover of Disney. They all agreed that Disney
    brings jobs and toutists. There were comments about how other big businesses were getting nervous that the governor might go after them.

    Here's one comment that says it all:

    "Let's all remember that this entire drama is about a government official trying to punish a business because its former CEO exercised his right to free speech. So much for "the courage to be free."

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  2. Ben Kissling

    What he needs is to avoid another John Kasich. That is the only reason Cruz lost to Trump.

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  3. David of Wallace

    Good chance we will see Sen. Ted Cruz throw his hat in the ring this time next year.

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  4. Avatar photo
    David Eggleston

    A lot of “establishment” Republicans chose Trump over Cruz because his performative constitutionalist populism scared them more than a millionaire/billionaire with no fixed beliefs. It was interesting how quickly they flocked to Trump after Jeb! and Rubio flamed out just to block the segretarian Cruz.

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  5. James Morphew

    I had some appreciation of Cruz in 2015-16, but the comparison isn't quite accurate. DeSantis has been a very successful governor (according to the Floridians) which is a huge endorsement. Cruz has been stuck in the senate, where few ever really come out shining -- they have to compromise, and fiddle with little laws, never looking particularly strong.

    Also, in 2016 Trump was not the bear to beat until Bush and Rubio (and Fiorina and Cain and others) fell by the wayside, and by then Trump had found a style and message that the others refused to pick up on. In 2024, Trump is the one with an early established following, huge negatives outside them, and a likely loser in a national election. The challenge for all Republican voters with an eye for the future is how to work around Trump and his entrenched following. The national Republicans have shown their consistent impotency in backing a winning candidate; it will be up to those Primary voters, whomever they are, and whether anyone other than DeSantis gets enough traction to split the non-Trump votes, allowing Trump to slide in again with 35% victories.

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  6. Jack.Kay

    Allow me to cut to the chase: I will vote for any Republican who can fog a mirror. It is a reflection of how I hold the Biden Administration and the Democratic Party in near-total contempt. The sole exclusion is Donald J. Trump. The only federal housing in which he belongs is the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, CT. However, I'd settle for a presumptive Biden pardon, a la Ford-Nixon.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Mmaughan0

      I live in Danbury - GET THAT EVIL AWAY FROM ME!

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  7. Token Liberal

    DeSantis seems weak right now. He's even been reduced to threaten a tax increase (!) in his made up unconstitutional fight with Disney. What's next? Mandatory abortions for pregnant Disney employees? But I suspect some come down was to be expected. The ride is not over. Buckle up!

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    1. Deleted Comment

      This comment has been deleted

  8. Jayroller

    Looks like Mr. Trump is successful in "Making America Grate Again"

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  9. Russell J

    I’m far from an expert but it seems the DeSantis strategy was cooked up to win a race without Trump rather than to defeat him head on. Slightly different than Ted Cruz 2.0.

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  10. Avatar photo
    Connie

    #NeverTrump here.

    Cruz always rubbed me the wrong way. His pandering in the 2016 primaries reminded me of a used car salesman.

    I don’t see DeSantis that way. Not yet, anyway.

    ***This is a voodoo poll, and in no way should be construed as reflecting the opinions of the GOP primary electorate.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Chris

      In 2013, I attended a political stump speech from Ted Cruz. It was Hillsdale College's Convocation, which was neither the time, place, nor audience for a political stump speech--soured me on him immediately, and it never wore off. There were actually studies done sometime surrounding 2016 that found Ted Cruz literally has a patently unlikable face, and I don't think his conduct helped him overcome that at all.

      DeSantis, however, looks like Trump-lite to me. He looks and sounds better than Cruz much of the time, but the way he abuses his power for political ends concerns me. Of course, that's also the only reason we're talking about him at all. Anyone's better than Trump (ugh), but I still don't like the guy.

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      1. Avatar photo
        Chris

        Source for the unlikable face thing, if anyone is interested: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/03/03/why-you-may-not-like-ted-cruzs-face-according-science/81265836/

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