When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that he was suspending his campaign, it sent shockwaves through the airwaves and interwebs. Given the gargantuan task that he faced in defeating former President Donald Trump, it wasn’t too much of a shocker.
But what followed were a series of post-mortems about DeSantis’ flawed campaign. Some highlighted areas where the governor’s bid for the Republican nomination fell short. Others argued that given Trump’s popularity and the politically motivated indictments, no candidate would have stood a chance.
The reality is that both of these theories are likely true. But does this race signify the end of DeSantis' quest for the White House?
Probably not. In fact, if the governor plays his cards right, 2028 might be his year.
RedState’s Jennifer O’Connell wrote a piece in which she gave an accurate and valid critique of DeSantis’ bid for the GOP nomination. She highlighted the botched announcement of his candidacy on X, formerly known as Twitter, his decision to only appear on conservative media outlets, and his awkward manner on the trail as factors that contributed to his campaign’s demise. But, O'Connell also acknowledged that all is not lost for the governor.
From all accounts from my friends who live in Florida, DeSantis is a great governor. He will return to his remaining two years and be able to rack up more legislative wins and fine-tune the governance of the state. Should DeSantis choose to run in 2028, he has four more years to gain some fire in the belly and recalibrate the issues that took his campaign from inspired to dispirited.
Looking forward, 2028 presents a potentially more favorable landscape for DeSantis. Without the looming presence of Donald Trump in the mix, the former candidate has a clearer path to securing the nomination and perhaps the presidency.
As I pointed out before, Trump’s situation was unique among Republican presidential candidates. Not only did his first term in office further solidify support among the base, but the growing sense that the 2020 election was not on the up and up only magnified his popularity. Moreover, the series of indictments made against him by Democrats, along with the effort to remove his name from the ballot in several states, only galvanized more support for the former president. This is why many have posited that even if DeSantis did everything right, the nomination was always going to go to Trump.
Now, DeSantis has more than four more years to recalibrate his strategy. He can spend time winning more political victories in Florida as governor. He and his team can do an autopsy of sorts, analyzing what went wrong in 2024 and how to better position himself for 2028.
DeSantis is 45 years old, which means, in the words of Tower of Power, he’s “Still a Young Man.” He has plenty of time to craft a successful strategy for winning the White House. Moreover, even though the base chose Trump, it is clear DeSantis retains much favor with Republican voters -- even those who decided that now is not his time.
Of course, the road ahead won’t be easy. If he has major setbacks in Florida or makes a decision that does not align with what the base wants, it could hurt him in the long run. Also, there is the chance that other younger upstarts might gain enough popularity to affect his chances in the future. After all, Vivek Ramaswamy isn’t exactly going anywhere, and it would not be a surprise to see him run again in four more years.
It is also worth noting that much of this might be affected by the outcome of the 2024 race. If Trump wins and does a decent job, the public might be more amenable to supporting DeSantis as Trump 2.0 in the future. On the other hand, if President Joe Biden wins reelection and continues trashing the country, the voting public might be yearning for someone to get the nation back on the right track. If DeSantis stays the course, he might just be the one America is looking for. Either way, there would be a possible opening for DeSantis.
