Looks like the Democrats have given up on trying to beat Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
According to a new Politico report, the Democrats Governors Association won’t spend their dollars on defeating DeSantis for Governor.
POLITICO: Democrat Governors Association holding off investing heavily in Democrats seeking to dethrone Ron DeSantis
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) November 5, 2021
Commotion — The Democratic Governors Association is not planning on making any major financial contributions to help Democrats try to unset the Republican incumbent and potential presidential contender.
Bad moon rising — There are several reasons for this, reports POLITICO’s Matt Dixon, including the need to protect Democratic incumbents in other states, but it adds to the foreboding that now hangs over the race and steepens the uphill battle for candidates Nikki Fried, Charlie Crist and Annette Taddeo. Earlier this week, we outlined many of the reasons DeSantis was already viewed as unbeatable even though the election is a year away.
Tombstone shadow — One big problem is that it costs a lot to advertise in Florida due to its 10 media markets. “I do think, and I can’t stress this enough, the DGA is playing mostly defense this year, and that’s a monumental change,” Jonathan Ducote, a veteran Democratic consultant who has worked with the DGA, told Matt. “When I think about Florida statewide elections, the number one thing you have to ask yourself is do you have the money to communicate in a really expensive state?”
A recent report from Politico outlined that DeSantis currently “appears unstoppable.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis appears unstoppable.
A year before the Florida gubernatorial election, the Republican governor has nearly $60 million in the bank. The GOP is on the cusp of becoming the state’s majority party after erasing Democrats’ enormous voter registration advantage. The Democratic field is splintering and support for President Joe Biden has collapsed in the state.
It’s a situation that has alarmed Democrats, who fear that Florida’s days as a battleground state are over and that national donors will write off their candidates.
“Right now Democrats are engaged in Powerball politics. They could get lucky, but it’s more likely to happen because of circumstances outside their control rather than their ability to change the political environment in Florida,” said Fernand Amandi, a Miami-based Democratic political consultant and pollster who helped Barack Obama win the state in 2008 and 2012.
In 2008 Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 700,000 in the state of Florida.
Republicans are now on the verge of outnumbering Democrats in Florida.
There are now more registered Republican voters than Democrats in Florida for the first time in the Sunshine State’s history.
“When I got elected governor we had 280,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans in the state of Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis told a crowd at the National Conference of State Legislatures on Friday. “Today, and it will probably be fully publicized very soon, for the first time in the history of Florida we have overtaken Democrats. There are more registered Republicans in Florida than Democrats.”
The crowd applauded Gov. DeSantis, who then joked that Republicans would have won the tightly contested New Jersey gubernatorial race if the state’s Republicans hadn’t moved to Florida.
DeSantis explained that Republicans are fleeing to Florida to escape coronavirus restrictions, lawlessness, crime, and other factors.
