The harder Ron DeSantis campaigns, the harder he tumbles. And now in New Hampshire, polling at a mere 10%, the Florida fascist has dropped to fifth place among Republican primary contenders, according to the latest CNN/University of New Hampshire poll.
DeSantis now drags his white rubber boots behind not only Donald Trump (39%), but also Vivek Ramaswamy (13%), Nikki Haley (12%) and Chris Christie (11%). A far cry from the days of glory back in early 2023 when he once held first place at 43% in the state.
The more Americans learn about DeSantis — his anti-science stupidity on climate change, his anti-education legislation, and his ridiculous "anti-woke" campaign, for starters — the more repelled they become. And yet the authoritarian knuckle head keeps bobbing to the beat of the same broken drum.
From The Guardian:
The Florida governor has run a relentlessly hard-right campaign, seeking to outflank even Trump, by any measure an extremist.
"DeSantis's decline comes largely among moderates," CNN said, detailing a 20-point drop in such support, "while Haley has gained ground with that group. Ramaswamy's standing has grown among younger voters and registered Republicans. And Christie's gains are centered among independents and Democrats who say they will participate in the GOP primary."
New Hampshire will be the second state to vote. It has been widely reported that Trump is gearing up to attack DeSantis in the first, Iowa, where DeSantis has targeted evangelical voters.
According to the author Michael Wolff, Rupert Murdoch, the Fox News owner, originally believed Trump would lose to DeSantis in Iowa because "it was going to come out about the abortions Trump had paid for". Iowa polling, however, returns consistent Trump leads.
Speaking to the New York Times, David Polyansky, DeSantis's deputy campaign manager, said: "Winning an Iowa caucus is very difficult. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline. It takes an incredible amount of hard work and organisation, traditionally. So much so that even in his heyday, Donald Trump couldn't win it in 2016."
