[kaktuskid]

Did Regan hurt his 1980 chances by running against Ford in 1976?

[Dilbert San Diego]

I have posed that question on Free Republic a few times.

And the answers I have gotten have been :

1. Reagan was more conservative than Ford whereas DeSantis is alleged to be RINO and deep state, as compared to Trump.

2. Reagan had a long track record as a conservative before he ever ran for president, whereas DeSantis does not have that track record.

3. People who voted for Ford in 1976 were happy to support Reagan in 1980. But according to some people here, people who support Trump now are not going to support DeSantis in the future.

[Alberta's Child]

When making historical comparisons, you can take everything related to President Ford and throw it out the window. He was never elected President in the first place. In fact, he was never elected Vice President, either. He was appointed as Nixon’s VP after Spiro Agnew resigned.

Gerald Ford was a man who had the charisma of a grapefruit, and had no political base of support outside the District of Columbia.

[Rdct29]

This is a different time and a different race. There are a lot of things that can go wrong for Desantis. He can alienate a lot of people if he is seen as part of the Bush/Rove republicans. He is already being connected to that faction. I guess we will see exactly who he is in the coming year.