2024

Home 2024 Page 3

DeSantis PAC Spokesman Admits ‘We Are Way Behind’

0
Ron DeSantis via Gage Skidmore Flickr

The truth is coming out…

A prominent pro-Ron DeSantis official is admitting the truth about the Florida governor’s presidential campaign, which does not sound good.

According to Mediate, Never Back Down PAC spokesman Steve Cortes “got pretty blunt” and was “sounding a decidedly dour note” on DeSantis’ ability to overtake the ex-president in the GOP presidential primary in a Twitter Spaces chat hosted by @CryptoLawyerz, an anonymous right-leaning account who says he is an attorney and formerly worked at the Department of Justice.

“Right now in national polling we are way behind, I’ll be the first to admit that,” said Cortes. “I believe in being blunt and honest. It’s an uphill battle but clearly Donald Trump is the runaway frontrunner.”

He added that DeSantis’ campaign was the “clear underdog,” and added that in the first four primary states, “which matter tremendously, polls are a lot tighter, we are still clearly down. We’re down double digits, we have work to do.”

During Sunday’s Twitter Space, Cortes did find some reason for optimism in DeSantis’ primary efforts — but not for DeSantis himself, predicting that the primary battle would make Trump a “better” and more competitive general election candidate.

“If we do not prevail — and I have every intent on winning, I didn’t sign up for this to come in second — but if we do not prevail I will tell you this, we will make President Trump better for having this kind of primary,” said Cortes.

Cortes also offered praise for Trump’s skills on the debate stage, joking that it might help DeSantis if Trump carries through on his threat to boycott the first RNC-hosted debate next month:

“Is Ron the debater that Trump is?” he said. “No, no he isn’t.”

“Absolutely Donald Trump is the maestro of it right, no doubt about it, right. When he gets on the debate stage, you know, and on his feet, in front of a microphone, he debates like Jack Nicklaus played golf, there’s no doubt about it,” Cortes said.

Former Trump Official Jumps Ship, Joins Competitors Campaign

3
Vivek Ramaswamy speaking with attendees at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

A top supporter of former President Trump in the crucial early-voting state of New Hampshire is joining rival Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign.

According to Fox News, longtime state Rep. Fred Doucette, who served as New Hampshire co-chair of Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, is joining the Ramaswamy campaign as a senior strategist and co-chair in New Hampshire.

The Granite State holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP’s presidential nominating calendar.

Doucette, the current deputy majority leader in the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives, said in a statement that Ramaswamy is a candidate that gives someone to vote for instead of someone to vote against, in a thinly-veiled jab at President Joe Biden.

“Vivek is the person who will deliver the America First agenda, without the drama,” Doucette said in a statement released on Thursday by the Ramaswamy campaign.

Doucette stressed, “I believe that President Trump’s agenda worked” and said his decision not to support the former president as he runs a third straight time for the White House was “terribly hard.”

“I came on board in March of 2015 and we were fired up. We were energized. We were engaged. We were about getting it done,” Doucette recalled. But he described the current Trump campaign as “flat.”

Doucette argued that Trump’s 2024 campaign “is not taking a page and looking forward” and said that impression “played into a lot of my decision-making.” He added that Trump supporters in the key primary and general election battleground state “were disappointed” in some of the decisions made by the Trump campaign.

“Fred gets things done. He has a proven track record of leadership, delivering results and winning,” Ramaswamy said in a statement“We’re taking America First to the next level, and I am confident Fred will be a key asset in our mission in the crucible of New Hampshire politics. We’re ready to roll and revive the American experiment, starting with the Granite state.”

Ramaswamy has hit the ground running since announcing his presidential campaign in February, traveling to New Hampshire and Iowa numerous times.

Chris Christie Suggests He Would ‘Torpedo’ Trump in GOP Primary Battle

21
Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie suggested to an audience on Monday that he may enter the 2024 presidential race to target former President Donald Trump.

Christie hinted at potentially joining the race while delivering remarks at St. Anselm’s College in New Hampshire.

“You better have somebody on that stage who can do to him what I did to Marco because that’s the only thing that’s gonna defeat Donald Trump,” Christie said in reference to him going hard after Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) during the debates. “And that means you gotta have the skill to do it and that means you have to be fearless because he will come back and right at you.”

Christie said that “it’s not gonna end nicely” and Trump’s “end will not be a calm and quiet conclusion.”

Christie campaigned in New Hampshire more than any other GOP candidate in 2016 but received lackluster results, leading him to suspend his campaign.

“And so, if I run again, I can’t imagine that I would continue to do it the same way,” he added. “But this time if I run, I would just hope that you come to a better conclusion than you did the last time.”

The former president and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis currently sit at the top of the polls for the 2024 Republican nomination.

Christie told Fox News that he wanted to go to New Hampshire to talk to people “who I know are the best-informed voters in the country about things that I think are important in the world and in our country right now — and to see how they react to that, and see that what they think about things that I think are important.”

Is Doug Mastriano Planning a Senate Run?

2
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

While Doug Mastriano’s November gubernatorial loss disappointed Republicans retired Army colonel-turned-state senator seems ready to strategize for the future.

A new report from POLITICO reveals Mastriano’s first steps toward a potential Senate run in 2024 and it seems clear he’s not ready to throw in the towel when it comes to pursuing higher office.

“What do you do with a movement of 2.2 million?” he told POLITICO. “We’re keeping it alive.”

“We’ve seen people in the past, other Republican gubernatorial candidates, they rise and they disappear when they lose. Why?” he asked. “You have people that love you and support you.”

Mastriano affirmed he is “praying” about whether to go forward with a potential Senate run in 2024. After God, his wife, Rebbie, will have the final word he said.

However, if Mastriano does decide to mount a Senate campaign the Republican would run in a primary for the right to take on Democrat Sen. Bob Casey. Which is likely to be a considerable challenge due in part to Sen. Casey’s familial history in the Keystone State.

POLITICO noted that “no one in the Pennsylvania GOP establishment is eager for that matchup. “

Casey’s father, former Gov. Robert Casey Sr., signed abortion regulations into law that went all the way to a landmark Supreme Court case, where they were largely kept intact. Mastriano even noted that Casey Sr. was “more pro-life than most Republicans” before insisting Sen. Casey is incapable of living up to his father’s legacy.

“I think he’s a huge disappointment. He’s nothing like his dad,” he said.

Still, all signs point to the fact Mastriano is taking steps to position himself for a possible run. He’s planning an upcoming rally in central Pennsylvania, which will feature Trump lawyer Christina Bobb and conservative media personality Wendy Bell as speakers. Mastriano also led a hearing on the East Palestine train derailment over the border from the incident in western Pennsylvania, and he successfully pushed a committee he chairs to subpoena Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw to testify.

He also hired Dan Cox, the unsuccessful Maryland gubernatorial nominee, as his chief-of-staff which has fueled speculation he might want to run for higher office again. He seemed to confirm the link during the interview.

“Hmm,” he said, laughing. “Gute erkennung. As the Germans say, ‘Good deduction.’”