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MIAMI \u2014 When Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his run for president Wednesday, confirming years of speculation, he delivered a Twitter-verse speech that addressed issues most Republicans would get behind: He would build a border wall, end inflation and, by a large majority, President Joe Biden would win in November 2024.<\/p>\n
But DeSantis followed that standard campaign rhetoric with a wide-ranging discussion that touched on a number of more niche issues. Along with billionaire Elon Musk and a supporting cast of other sympathetic conservatives, DeSantis delved into the concerns of a certain kind of connected Republican: tech censorship and cryptocurrency regulation.<\/p>\n
“As president, we’re going to protect the ability to do things like bitcoin,” DeSantis said at one point.<\/p>\n
The scattered nature of his audio-only Twitter launch event highlighted a broader challenge for DeSantis as he moves forward with his presidential campaign: How can he assemble a winning coalition of Republican voters? Young and old, white and blue collar, Never Trump and Ultra MAGA: DeSantis will likely need the support of a group of voters with broad priorities to best former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination.<\/p>\n
You will also have to walk a numerical tightrope. Trump leads DeSantis by an average of more than 30 points in national polls, according to RealClearPolitics<\/a>. Three pollsters interviewed by the Tampa Bay Times estimated that at least a third of Republican primary voters are unwavering Trump supporters. DeSantis has no chance of attracting that block, they said.<\/p>\n “This is a very large base to start with in a multi-candidate field,” said Matthew Shelter, a partner at the political polling firm Beacon Research.<\/p>\n Beacon has found that roughly 40 percent of Republican voters consider themselves Trump supporters rather than the Republican Party, Shelter said.<\/p>\n When fundraisers from around the country gathered at the Four Seasons Hotel Miami earlier this week to give DeSantis a big chunk of money \u2014 he raised $8.2 million in the first 24 hours, according to the campaign – were first briefed by the governor’s top pollster and other staff about their potential path to victory.<\/p>\n The goal was not to take anyone out of Trump’s stronghold. Instead, the DeSantis camp has been strategizing how best to capture the rest of the voters.<\/p>\n Evangelical voters are an important part of this strategy. DeSantis’ supporters believe they will be swayed by his anti-woke crusades against LGBTQ+ inclusive school lessons, as well as his recent signing of a bill banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.<\/p>\n Monday night, DeSantis spoke<\/a> at the National Religious Broadcasters convention, billed as “the world’s largest gathering of Christian broadcasters.”<\/p>\n “The people in power now don’t like people of faith, and so we have to rein in this government,” DeSantis told them.<\/p>\n Subscribe to our free Buzz newsletter<\/p>\n We’ll send you a roundup of local, state and national politics coverage every Thursday.<\/p>\n Want more of our free weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.<\/strong><\/p>\n Explore all your options<\/p>\n DeSantis’ team has also touted his 2022 success in winning over female voters, a bloc that Trump lost in the 2016 and 2020 general elections. And DeSantis has historically done well with college-educated Republicans.<\/p>\n “You need to reach 50 percent plus one of Republican voters, and I think DeSantis has the ability to get the support of every constituency in the Republican Party,” said lobbyist Justin Sayfie, who was one of the people who raise money for DeSantis in Miami. “From the Chamber of Commerce types to the Make America Great Again types to the anti-wokeness types to the evangelicals \u2014 with all of these constituencies, Governor DeSantis can do well.”<\/p>\n Brad Coker, a longtime Jacksonville-based political pollster, said DeSantis might be able to build a coalition by winning over staunch conservatives first. If he is able to outlast the other non-Trump candidates, he will be the only alternative available to moderates.<\/p>\n DeSantis’ prospects are better in a one-on-one matchup against Trump, polls suggest, but the Republican field continues to expand, which could dilute DeSantis’ support. US Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina entered the race last week, and former Vice President Mike Pence is expected to announce in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cHow does DeSantis reach moderate Republicans? He’s got to make it a two-person race,” Coker said. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and that’s the principle DeSantis will use to attract people from the ‘center’ caucus of the Republican Party.” .<\/p>\n DeSantis already appears to be trying to one-up Trump on red-meat issues like abortion. Earlier this month, Trump called the abortion bill signed by DeSantis “tough.” In response, DeSantis noted that this legislation has the support of “99% of pro-lifers.”<\/p>\n And in a dozen media appearances Thursday, DeSantis continued to bash Trump from the right.<\/p>\n “I don’t know what happened to Donald Trump. He’s a different guy today than when he ran in 2015 and 2016,” he told an interviewer.<\/p>\n Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for the pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc., said DeSantis’ Spaces Twitter campaign launch included more mentions of “DEI,” an acronym for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives which DeSantis opposes, that inflation, a sign that his campaign is out of touch with regular voters.<\/p>\n “Where is your base?” she said “He’s polling closer to (former Arkansas Gov.) Asa Hutchinson than Donald Trump at this point in the race, so he’s got no basis.”<\/p>\nHow DeSantis plans to get the other two-thirds<\/h2>\n
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