So much for Favorite Son status mattering much.
Gov. Ron DeSantis mustered a third place finish in Florida’s Republican Primary, a result representing the huge gap between the promise of his presidential campaign last Spring and reality now, with that operation consigned to the dustbin of history.
With 99% of the vote in, the Governor has 4% of the vote, with Donald Trump at 81% and Nikki Haley at 14%.
The Associated Press called the race shortly after polls closed in the Central Time Zone.
For the state party, that represents a resounding mandate that seems to retire for good the drama that characterized the Trump-DeSantis showdown last year.
“The Florida GOP was proud to officially endorse President Trump earlier this year and tonight’s results underline what we already know: Florida Republicans are united and ready to send Joe Biden back to his basement in Delaware this November,” said Chairman Evan Power. “I want to congratulate President Trump on his overwhelming victory tonight and I look forward to working with him to Make America Great Again!”
“THANK YOU, FLORIDA—MAGA,” added Trump on Truth Social after the race was called.
Sen. Rick Scott, who endorsed Trump while his successor as Governor was still an active candidate, likewise was enthusiastic.
“In case tonight’s results didn’t make it clear, Florida is MAGA country! Proud to support President Trump and looking forward to all Florida Republicans winning big in November!”
Meanwhile what’s clear at this writing is that a man who got nearly 3/5 of the vote in the 2022 Governor’s race did not translate that support to his home state Primary, where the voters who know him best could have cast protest votes that showed that even with him out of the race, he still had support.
Upon leaving the race, DeSantis said “a majority of Republican Primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance.” And indeed, that’s the case in Florida, where the state party endorsed Trump weeks before voters got a chance to weigh in.
With the result preordained, DeSantis’ performance is closer to the post-campaign suspension number of Jeb Bush in 2016 (1.8%) than the 27% Marco Rubio got.
The Governor’s Office did not respond to inquiries about where and when he voted in Tuesday’s Primary. During the afternoon, DeSantis was on The Dana Show, where he suggested he might send Haitian refugees to Martha’s Vineyard. He did not mention the Florida Primary during that appearance.
Meanwhile, with nearly 1/5 of voters rejecting Trump, Democrats are raising doubts about whether he will be able to bring home those Haley and DeSantis voters who wanted a different option.
“Tonight’s election made one thing clear: Trump is in trouble in Florida,” said FDP Chair Nikki Fried.
“The results of Florida’s Republican primary show Donald Trump backsliding by 14%, losing support from moderate Republicans who are rejecting his extremism in growing numbers. With moderate Republicans protesting in double digits and non-party affiliated voters breaking for Democrats in recent elections — the bottom line of the night is — Florida is in play. Don’t count us out.”
But that’s a question for November. For tonight, the former President took the state and its 125 delegates.
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