Surprisingly folks are behaving in this thread…..a very nice change!
Your questions are relevant but sometimes it’s easier to work backwards to find the solution.
Facts:
DeSantis has not been vetted nationally, in the general he will be defined by the left as authoritarian and use the FL legislation as proof (and misconstrue it). Ex. Don’t say gay law……and it worked effectively at misleading the public.
DeSantis is to the right of Trump and that will alienate some converted Democrats and independents
Most of america, especially women support 15 wk abortions, DeSantis passed 6 week abortion. That will not be popular
Trump or Nothing voters will not vote for Trump’s enemy DeSantis in the general- the number is 10%-20% of MAGA (@13 million) Many of these never voted before Trump because they believe DC is a uniparty.
DeSantis will not attract voters that switched to Republican for Trump 2020 because of Trump’s success with the economy. DeSantis has no record on the economy.
DeSantis will attract rep soccer moms assuming they support 6 wk abortion. He will not attract independent soccer moms for that reason.
As for Trump, he will have the same numbers as 2016. Maybe a little more because of the economy
If DeSantis runs, he will lose the primary and end his chances for being president 2028. Much like the rest of them. Trump is brutal in the debates.
Those that want a primary are shortsighted. Trump is the clear front runner, everyone knows he will win. Why stack up bodies doing it? The fact that DeSantis knows this and will try anyway makes him an opportunist, and ignoring what the majority of republican voters have already decided. That is very self serving.
As for election fraud, neither candidate can tell states what to do about elections. Voters should be engaging their state for reforms.
Everything above pertains to the election - in general, DeSantis would not win the general and Trump probably won’t either regardless of the opponent. It is what it is.
Assuming Trump does win, I guarantee he knows much more than he did 2016. The hard part will be finding good people, they do not exist in DC, bureaucrat or otherwise. Additionally, congress is NOT MAGA, neither Trump or DeSantis will get anything MAGA accomplished.
The president cannot do much, nor will any branch of government embrace MAGA. Knowing that, the only thing that can change that is the voters, engaged voters, voters that contact their representatives. Trump is a great cheerleader. And voters did get involved but not near enough. After the 2020 disaster, some voters realized they need to get engaged and made a difference. To this day, it still isn’t enough. The only thing that will bring change is NOT the president, it’s the voters actively monitoring their representatives…….and holding them accountable.
I seriously doubt that DeSantis (or any other politician) can motivate voters like Trump. So, if DeSantis wins the general…….rep voters will go back to sleep. And MAGA is dead. Congress is not MAGA and will not pass anything MAGA whether DeSantis wants it or not.
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As for the dems, I predict they will let Biden run if they believe he can beat Trump. Otherwise they will go with RFK instead. He will be hard to beat. And he doesn’t have the baggage that Biden has. Another reason I think Trump will lose. They are using DeSantis, lawfare, RFK as a last resort to take out Trump. RFK may be the one that succeeds and DeSantis will have blown his career for it. Very stupid.
Apparently, you haven't been paying attention. The Florida economy is strong. The Florida boom is one of the main reasons Biden's economic numbers aren't even worse than they already are.
And not only did DeSantis win by 20 points, he carried in enough Republican House members that we have the majority (such as it is) due to him and Zeldin.
1968 — Incumbent Democrat president is challenged by a Kennedy. Republican wins.
1980 — Incumbent Democrat president is challenged by a Kennedy. Republican wins.
2024 — Incumbent Democrat president is challenged by a Kennedy.