The Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was once hailed as the Republican Party’s best hope for a respectable version of Maga: Trumpism without Trump. The thinking among some of the party’s Trump-weary establishment when DeSantis ran against the then former president for the 2024 nomination was that he offered nationalist populism without the stench of the 6 January attack on the Capitol.
Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post declared him “DeFUTURE”. He was admired for his mammoth victory in his second term race in 2023, and his slightly surreal war on woke, whose defining battle was with Disney after the company’s chief executive criticised the governor for a law that prevented sexual and gender education in schools. Once upon a time, DeSantis was supposed to usher in the post-Trump Republican era.
But then it all went wrong. Trump’s grip on the Republican base was too tight for the young governor from Florida to prise open. He was too weird to keep his head above the water; mocked for the comical heels on his extra large cowboy boots. As Helen Lewis wrote in the Atlantic in 2023, “he promised to run as Trump plus an attention span, and instead he is running as Trump minus jokes.” He eventually bowed out from the national race.
But he did not disappear. DeSantis was reportedly Trump’s favourite to replace Pete Hegseth at the Defense Department in 2024 if Hegseth was not confirmed by the Senate. There are still mutterings that he could be called up to Washington if the Attorney General Pam Bondi falls foul of the President, or the Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is scapegoated for the bad publicity the deportation policy is receiving. DeSantis cannot run for another term as governor and his term ends next year. During all the intrigue surrounding the candidates in Washington, keep in mind that another tilt at the top spot for the awkward Floridian should not be ruled out.
Outside of the administration, he is partly insulated from the administration’s growing unpopularity. He does not have to defend Trump’s actions to the same extent as someone like the Vice President. His time spent standing against Trump cements that perspective. And his dearth of charisma may not be as fatal when the uniquely charismatic president is not in the race. Although far from the best bet, DeSantis is currently underpriced.
In the capital, Republican staffers are already scheming to curry favour with the candidates they think will inherit the movement. JD Vance is still seen as the favourite. He was effectively endorsed by Erika Kirk, the wife of the assassinated Charlie Kirk, in December. Other candidates mentioned around Washington include Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Trump’s son Don Jr; Senator Ted Cruz, who has vocally condemned Tucker Carlson for hosting white nationalist Nick Fuentes on his podcast last year; the trade union backer and traditional populist Senator Josh Hawley; Arkansas Governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders; libertarian Senator Rand Paul; Carlson himself; and the Maga shaman, Steve Bannon.
At the CPAC conservative conference in February 2025, I remember watching Bannon’s team excitedly pass around the results from a straw poll which asked who attendees thought the next Republican nominee should be. As expected, Vance was the overwhelming favourite with 61 per cent. But Bannon came second with 12 per cent, followed by DeSantis on 7 per cent. There is nothing scientific about this poll and much will change before the primary, but it is often seen as a good barometer of the party’s mood.
Of course, all speculation about who will run in 2028 should be caveated by the assumption that Trump obeys the constitutional ban on presidents running for a third term. But if he does not run and withholds his endorsement so that he can watch his lackeys fight it out, then the field could be much more populated than is currently taken for granted. And, this time round, the short man from Florida might be in for a better shot, even if he’s still wearing those boots.
[Further reading: Will Trump allow the Midterms to happen?]
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Subscribe here to commentIt would certainly be interesting to see how DeSantis mounts a presidential campaign. He has effectively been drowned out by the remarkably loud voices of Rubio and Vance since Trump’s ascendancy. If DeSantis were to run, he would have to fight extremely hard to stay relevant, never mind win. That being said, a fight between Vance and Rubio could create the opportunity for DeSantis to act as a compromise candidate between ‘MAGA’ and the traditionalist Republicans.