Gov. Ron DeSantis has reconciled himself to participating in caucuses in a key early state, even as polling suggests he’s a long shot there.
According to The New York Times, the DeSantis campaign will work on “earning every single delegate” in Nevada.
“It is disappointing that the Nevada Republican Party changed the rules against the will of the people just to benefit one candidate. However, Ron DeSantis will fight to overcome these tactics,” campaign spokesperson Andrew Romeo told the Times.
Caucus participation may be an easier threshold than the Nevada Primary, which is more or less ceremonial in 2024.
An October survey of 400 likely Republican Primary voters in Nevada, commissioned by the Republican Main Street Partnership and Women2Women and conducted by The Tarrance Group, shows the Florida Governor at 11%, tied with Vivek Ramaswamy. The two candidates, meanwhile, are way behind former President Donald Trump and his formidable 60% support.
Another recent poll of 650 likely Nevada Republican caucusgoers from CNN shows the Florida Governor with 13% support, with Trump at 65%.
The opinion polls are essentially beauty contests, however, given that all 26 delegates (roughly 1% of the total for the GOP) the state will offer next February will be allocated via a caucus vote which is two days after the popular vote.
The Times report features a statement from the Nevada Republican Party that suggests DeSantis’ supportive super PAC complained about the rule changes.
“We are aware that the Never Back Down super PAC that is supporting Governor DeSantis had concerns with rule changes,” the state party said. “However, his campaign never took action to influence these rules. All official campaigns were invited to the meeting where these common sense, (Republican National Committee)-supported rules changes were voted on, and passed by overwhelming majority.”
If 2024 is anything like 2016, the election won’t be close. In that election, Trump got nearly 46% in Nevada’s caucus, exceeding the combined support garnered by U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida.
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