Earlier today, a new Super PAC titled “Ron to the Rescue” launched a video showcasing Ron DeSantis on YouTube that will eventually run as a TV ad in Iowa and other early 2024 Primary States. The ad, titled, “A Nation on the brink”, plays highlights from Ron DeSantis’ 2022 re-election victory speech juxtaposed with commentary and stats about America’s most pressing political issues.
The ad’s launch fueled additional speculation that DeSantis will ultimately run for the 2024 Republican Presidential Primary Election. It debuted less than 24 hours after former President Donald Trump declared the start of his candidacy for the 2024 election, and just over one week after DeSantis was re-elected by an astoundingly-high margin, conquering the majority of the vote in counties which were formerly reliable safe havens for Democratic candidates.
On two occasions this week at press conferences, DeSantis side-stepped opportunities to respond directly to recent taunts from Trump. DeSantis grouped all of the criticism he receives from media and fellow politicians as “noise”, and the closest he got to responding to Trump was when he encouraged any critics to “Check the scoreboard” from the 2022 Midterm Election results. Trump had been touting that his endorsement was the sole reason for DeSantis’ win in the 2018 Republican Primary Election as well as the 2018 General Election for Florida’s Governor, but in this year’s election, DeSantis performed far better than Trump in Florida’s most competitive counties, including major metro areas such as Miami and Tampa.
Recent polling from multiple sources, including the conservative Club for Growth, showed in a survey of likely Republican primary voters in GOP-oriented Texas, DeSantis was beating Trump by 11 percentage points.
Further complicating strategy for Trump is his former Vice President Mike Pence, who went through the political tv talk show circuit this week, criticizing Trump’s language on January 6 as reckless. Earlier today, Pence appeared Fox and Friends (Arguably the show that gave Trump the majority of his earned media during his 2016 run) and predicted that Republicans will have “better choices” in 2024, a sentiment echoed by Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, also a potential candidate.
Other members from Trump’s administration who have also come forward to air their concerns about another run include Mike Pompeo, who served as Trump’s Secretary of State. Pompeo, who is mulling his own 2024 GOP Primary campaign, called for “more seriousness, less noise, and leaders who are looking forward, not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood.” on his Twitter account.
Republican strategist Bob Heckman, who has worked on nine different presidential campaigns, told Politico that he believes Trump’s favor and ranking have fallen among conservative voters. “I don’t think he’s the prohibitive favorite anymore,” said , a Republican strategist who has worked on nine presidential campaigns. “I think there are a lot of people in the party and the movement who want to move on from Trump.”
You can learn more about the PAC at ron2therescue.com. They’re also on Twitter at twitter.com/Ron2theRescue, Facebook at Facebook.com/RontotheRescue and Instagram, at instagram.com/ron_to_the_rescue/