Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hasn’t announced his run for president yet. But he’s sure acting like a presidential candidate.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hasn’t announced his run for president yet.
But he’s sure acting like a presidential candidate.
DeSantis received an enthusiastic welcome from hundreds of Ohio Republicans Thursday. He didn’t make a presidential announcement. But some of the Republicans who came out to see him wished he would.
More than 900 Republicans dined with DeSantis and his wife, Casey, Thursday evening in Butler County, a Republican-heavy suburb just north of Cincinnati. Donald Trump won Butler County with 61% of the vote in 2020. Thursday morning, DeSantis breakfasted with Republicans in the Akron region.
Among the 900 Republicans in Butler County were Lenora and Larry Johnson, who drove from their home in Dayton Thursday to see DeSantis. He’s got Lenora Johnson’s vote. Larry Johnson said he could see himself voting for DeSantis or other candidates who aren’t former President Donald Trump.
«Personally, I don’t want to see Trump as the face of my party anymore, because he has no class,» Larry Johnson, 56, said. «We need someone with class.»
DeSantis’ visit drew heat in his home state of Florida, where floodwaters have inundated Fort Lauderdale and the southern part of the state. The phrase «Where’s Ron?» trended on Twitter.
But in Ohio, the 2024 presidential race took center stage at the Akron and Butler County events, both Lincoln Day fundraisers for the local county GOP.
«What an honor to have the governor come 1,500 miles to visit us, right?» Butler County GOP Chairman Todd Hall told the crowd Thursday night.
Polls show DeSantis is a leading challenger to former President Donald Trump in the growing Republican Primary field. But he’s still far behind Trump in the polls. A Real Clear Politics average of presidential polls shows Trump with 51% of the vote and DeSantis second with 25%.
While DeSantis hasn’t officially announced his candidacy, he’s making moves toward a campaign. DeSantis in early March visited Iowa, where the caucuses are the first contest in the presidential primary. After Ohio, DeSantis will head to the early primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina.
He’s also scheduled trips around the country to promote his book, «The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival.
