Tag: Election 2024

The DeSantis Appeal

Buck Banks

“If critics see DeSantis as a would-be authoritarian, allies see a conservative who gets things done. Many predicted that his hard-charging first term in office would provoke a backlash. Instead the opposite occurred. While Republicans across the country struggled last November, DeSantis romped to a 19-point re-election victory, the biggest win for a Florida governor in decades. What was once America’s paradigmatic swing state now pulsates bright red. For the first time in modern history, registered Republicans outnumber Democrats. The people of Florida seem to like the steady hand—even if it’s an iron fist. … To fans, DeSantis’ success proves that a pugilistic, big-government conservatism that promises ruthless competence instead of Trumpian chaos can win broad support, including a growing share of working-class and minority voters.”

— Molly Ball

NY Post: Biden Up by 7 Points over Trump

Pensito Editors

Biden Up by 7

New York Post:”The WPA Intelligence survey of 1,571 registered voters found Biden, 80, leading 76-year-old Trump 47% to 40%. By comparison, Biden defeated Trump by 4.5 percentage points in the 2020 popular vote, while former President Barack Obama won re-election over Republican Mitt Romney by 3.9 percentage points in 2012. The poll … also showed independent voters backing Biden by a whopping 14 percentage points.”

Majorities Don’t Want Trump, Biden to Run in 2024

Buck Banks

60%

A new NBC News poll found that 60 percent of Americans think Trump shouldn’t try to retake the Oval Office — including roughly a third of Republicans. Thirty percent of those who think he shouldn’t campaign in 2024 cite the criminal charges he faces in New York as a “major” reason. At the same time, 70 percent of Americans think Biden shouldn’t seek a second term — including 51 percent of Democrats. Forty-eight percent of those who said he shouldn’t run again cited his age as a “major” reason.

Trump Surge Comes at DeSantis’ Expense

Pensito Editors

Graph GOP support Trump over DeSantis
Yahoo! News: “A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll — one of the first conducted after former President Donald Trump was indicted Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star — shows Trump surging to his largest-ever lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his likely 2024 GOP primary challenger, as Republican voters rally around the only president in U.S. history to face criminal charges.

“In the previous Yahoo News/YouGov survey, which was conducted less than two weeks ago, Trump (47%) led DeSantis (39%) by eight percentage points in a head-to-head matchup among registered voters who are Republicans or Republican-leaning independents. As recently as February, it was DeSantis who was narrowly ahead of Trump, 45% to 41%.

“But the new, post-indictment poll suddenly finds Trump lapping DeSantis by 26 percentage points — 57% to 31% — in a one-on-one contest. The former president even attracts majority support (52%, up from 44% previously) when pitted against a wider, 10-candidate field of declared and potential GOP challengers, while DeSantis plummets to 21% (down from 28%).”

GOP in Thrall to Trump’s Grievances

Buck Banks

“The clips and headlines coming out of the rally were enough to incite panic in any Republican concerned about the party’s ability to defeat President Joe Biden. The current president should be extremely politically vulnerable: Inflation is still hurting voters and some economists are predicting a recession. And yet, rather than attack Biden for those weaknesses, Republicans are held captive to Trump’s grievances.”

— Playbook

A Trump Indictment Helps in the Primary

Buck Banks

“It does make the conversation of the primary all about Trump, which is a good dynamic he had going for him in 2016, everyone being asked to react to Trump. We’re right now fighting a primary so all that matters is the party, and we can deal with the general after….”

— A GOP operative, quoted by the Washington Post, on the impact of Donald Trump being indicted.