The chances of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pulling off a comeback to win the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 are fading, experts say.
Now DeSantis’ best chance at getting the nomination is to win in Iowa — and hope that momentum can bring him to the finish line.
He is already trying to do that, engaging in more traditional politicking as he delivered a speech Friday night — which has earned him the endorsements of two state representatives.
DeSantis, 44, continues to trail former President Donald Trump in most national polls, which have Trump up by more than 30 points despite recent indictments charging him criminally for keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
The Republican governor has been suffering in recent weeks from bad press for overspending $20million and axing 38 campaign staffers.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is trying to woo Iowa Republicans as he seeks to rebuild his campaign. He is pictured here speaking at the Republican Party of Iowa 2023 Lincoln Dinner Friday night
![Trump is by far the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican primary race so far with a 36.9% lead over second place candidate DeSantis](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/07/30/20/73770851-12354297-Trump_is_by_far_the_frontrunner_in_the_2024_Republican_primary_r-a-76_1690743903271.jpg)
Trump is by far the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican primary race so far with a 36.9% lead over second place candidate DeSantis
The Florida governor is apparently hoping to repeat former Sen. John McCain’s strategy in 2008 — who successfully beat ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the Republican nomination despite his initial lead in the polls.
In that case, Giuliani said he was skipping the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire to focus instead on campaigning in Florida, a swing state.
Due to those efforts, Giuliani soon found himself slipping in the Iowa caucuses, while McCain surged ahead.
The former Arizona senator went on to win the New Hampshire primary and gained a lead in the national polling average he maintained through the Republican National Convention.
DeSantis’ campaign is now hoping a strong showing in Iowa will do the same for him, catapulting him in the polls.
Much like McCain, DeSantis has seen his unfavorability rating surge over the spring and summer.
It has risen from 35.6 percent in the beginning of the year, to 45.5 percent now, according to Politico.
Meanwhile, Trump’s favorability rating has remained relatively constant, data from FiveThirtyEight showed.
![DeSantis' campaign is apparently hoping a strong showing in Iowa will do the same for him, catapulting him in the polls](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/07/30/20/73777043-12354297-image-m-99_1690746499175.jpg)
DeSantis’ campaign is apparently hoping a strong showing in Iowa will do the same for him, catapulting him in the polls
![He has been engaging in direct politicking in recent days, meeting with voters directly](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/07/30/21/73777051-12354297-He_has_been_engaging_in_direct_politicking_in_recent_days_meetin-a-17_1690747226669.jpg)
He has been engaging in direct politicking in recent days, meeting with voters directly
![DeSantis is pictured greeting guests at the Lincoln Dinner Friday night](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/07/30/20/73777055-12354297-image-a-80_1690744976866.jpg)
DeSantis is pictured greeting guests at the Lincoln Dinner Friday night
In an effort to change his rating, DeSantis has been hitting the ground in Iowa — meeting with voters personally and outlining what he would do if he were elected.
At a speech Friday night, DeSantis said he wants to stop the ‘weaponization’ of the federal government and pledged to ‘rip the politics’ out of the military, the Des Moines Register reported.
He also used the opportunity to hit Vice President Kamala Harris, who criticized DeSantis’ new educational curriculum, which teaches that slaves developed skills.
‘We have beaten the left’s agenda in the state of Florida, so she thinks she can come down and lie about what we’re doing,’ DeSantis told the crowd of Republican voters.
‘I’m not budging an inch. We are going to fight back against these people, and we are not letting them take over our schools any longer.’
That speech earned him a standing ovation, and the endorsements of Republican state representatives Bill Gustoff and Dan Gehlbach.
‘The Lincoln Dinner showed that Republicans have a deep bench of great candidates for president in 2024 compared to the train wreck offered by Democrats. Iowans will have a difficult choice for caucusing,’ Gustoff said in a statement.
‘But Gov. DeSantis knocked it out of the park in his short speech packed with a long list of plans to put the country back on track, complete with a record of accomplishment to show why he’s the one to get it done.’
Gehlbach also said: ‘Ron DeSantis had an awesome, energetic speech last night that offered a positive vision for the future.
‘He’s ready to get to work on Day One, with specific plans for our country.’
He added the Florida governor ‘took the time to talk to every single person in the room after his speech at the Iowa GOP dinner, far more than any other candidate I saw.’
![Iowa State Rep Bill Gustoff](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/07/30/20/73777061-12354297-image-m-87_1690746130688.jpg)
![Iowa State Reps Dan Gehlbach](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/07/30/20/73777059-12354297-ff-a-88_1690746135285.jpg)
His speech at the Lincoln Dinner earned him the endorsements of Iowa State Reps Bill Gustoff (left) and Dan Gehlbach (right)
Prior to the speech, the Florida governor made his way through the state in a bus — sponsored by his related PAC, ‘Never Back Down’ — taking on President Joe Biden and his family.
‘When I’m president we are not going to allow any cocaine in the White House,’ he exclaimed as he took the stage at at the Revelton Distilling Co. in Osceola Thursday night.
He made the same proclamation Friday at Smokey Row Coffee in Oskaloosa.
While there was no evidence the cocaine found near the Situation Room belonged to Biden’s troubled son Hunter, a recovering crack addict, DeSantis connected it to the First Son by immediately referencing his own children.
‘I do have to say, I have a 6, a 5 and a 3-year-old that my wife and I chase around the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee and so I can’t necessarily promise there won’t be problems in the White House with them,’ he said. ‘But that’s just like marking on the wall. I’ve got the magic eraser. We can take care of that.’
On Thursday night, DeSantis again talked about the importance of there being a ‘single standard of justice in this country.’
‘You know, if Hunter Biden were a Republican he’d probably be in jail three years ago and yet now he’s trying to get a sweetheart plea deal. But this judge actually stood up against that, which I was surprised about,’ he said, referencing Wednesday’s federal court hearing in Delaware, in which the first son’s plea deal was put on hold.
![DeSantis toured Iowa this week, taking plenty of swings at President Joe Biden and his family but staying away from former President Donald Trump's increasing legal turmoil](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/07/30/21/73706443-12354297-DeSantis_toured_Iowa_this_week_taking_plenty_of_swings_at_Presid-a-18_1690747226787.jpg)
DeSantis toured Iowa this week, taking plenty of swings at President Joe Biden and his family but staying away from former President Donald Trump’s increasing legal turmoil
But DeSantis has so far refused to talk about Trump’s legal problems.
When asked to react to Special Counsel Jack Smith filing a superseding indictment against Trump and an additional Trump employee, which alleged the ex-president asked an aide to delete surveillance footage to wipe evidence that could be used in the classified documents investigation, DeSantis said it was ‘in the past.’
‘Well, we have – we have engaged when, when appropriate,’ DeSantis told DailyMail.com, when pressed why he wouldn’t touch Trump, who he’ll have to beat in the GOP primary if he wants to be president.
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