I don’t think this is “new”. What is happening with DeSantis reminds me of what happened with Scott Walker (Gov-R in Wisconsin). He was a very effective Governor and, on paper, should have been a lot more competitive when he ran for President in 2016. However, he was running against Trump and his campaign just when nowhere and he quickly faded in obscurity.
neither can "connect" with voters. That was Hillary's downfall.
The Meatball reminds me of Lying Ted and his supporters.
Then Trump kicked Lying Ted’s teeth in.
Both Walker and DeSantis had/have messaging problems. Walker was a good governor but didn’t really have any vision for what he wanted to accomplish on the national stage. I always felt his heart wasn’t really in it, and that he ran because it just seemed like the next logical career step for him to take.
DeSantis also has a messaging problem. He’s trying to beat a very popular front runner by adopting most of that front runner’s platform and claiming that he’s just a better version of him. That strategy gives you very little to work with. You can’t attack the front runner too hard or you undercut your claim to being similar to him and you alienate his supporters, which you can’t afford to do. On top of that, he has a past history of supporting Trump which makes any distancing of himself from him now, seem opportunistic.
My sense is that Walker is more trustworthy and principled than DeSantis, but he really had no great interest in becoming president. But aside from that, their campaigns are similar.