Florida’s Governor ended his presidential run this year after one nominating contest, in which he finished a distant second in the Iowa caucuses. But he’s still envisioning himself as a presidential candidate, even with the choice of 39-year-old JD Vance to be Donald Trump’s running mate.
On Wednesday, the Governor will speak to the state’s Republicans that arguably know him best. He will address Iowa Republicans at a lunch event to be held at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
DeSantis, who memorably did the “Full Grassley” tour of all 99 counties in the Hawkeye State, has wooed GOP voters in the state since even before he became an official candidate. One of his first book tour stops promoting the best-selling “The Courage to Be Free” was in the Hawkeye State in February 2023.
Meanwhile, August promises more political travel for DeSantis, who has yet to offer public comment on Trump’s running mate since his selection Monday. He will go to Washington, where Republicans seek to raise $1 million for Trump.
Indeed, in recent weeks, DeSantis has been fundraising for the former President, and hopes are that he can help Trump’s operation get a $10 million boost.
“I think it’s been reported we’ve been active in raising money. I think it’s important and we’re going to continue to do that,” DeSantis said at an official press conference last month.
During the 2022 cycle, DeSantis went to Ohio to help JD Vance get elected to the Senate, but the Hillbilly Elegy author endorsed Trump in January 2023, even before the Governor got into the presidential race. (He was waiting until the Legislative Session ended to make it official.)
The DeSantis rally with Vance was staged by the conservative group Turning Point USA. The Governor was greeted with a standing ovation at the Ohio event, where he stressed his familial ties to Youngstown before offering his wisdom.
DeSantis’ comments about his future intentions have been all over the place, meanwhile, but he clearly is not closing the door on higher office.
“Oh, I haven’t ruled anything out. I mean, I think that, you know, we’re still in this election cycle so it’s presumptuous to say, you know, this or that. I think a lot happens in politics,” DeSantis said in February, addressing the 2028 question during a call with people who pledged to be his delegates at the GOP Convention.
“We’ll see what the future holds,” DeSantis said to a radio host in Iowa back in January, suggesting that he was indeed striving to keep the band together.
“Most of the people that supported me, whether activists, whether volunteers, whether fundraisers, you know, they’re all on board, you know, for what the future holds. So we’ll be active,” DeSantis promised.
More recently, the Governor told Fox News Channel viewers that he didn’t “have any plans for the future” when asked about a future run by Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures.
But indications are that he’s still envisioning political life outside of Tallahassee, nonetheless.
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