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Ron DeSantis declared himself unelectable for President: Introduction
Ron DeSantis declared himself unelectable for President: Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, did he just declare himself unfit to be president? The response to this question is yes if the midterm elections in 2022 are anything to go by—which they are. The midterm elections of 2022 turned out to be decided by the availability of abortion, particularly among independent women voters who tended to sway votes.
In 2024, it will be crucial to navigate the issue in a manner that keeps conservative voters in your camp while not alienating swing voters. And while current presidential candidate Donald Trump has acknowledged that extreme views on abortion are unhelpful to Republicans’ chances of winning, a recent error by the aspirational Florida Governor and rumored Trump rival DeSantis indicates that he has not.
Ron DeSantis declared himself unelectable for President: The Radical Bill
A radical bill that would have banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy was put forth a few weeks ago by the Florida state legislature, which has been incredibly accommodating to DeSantis, and DeSantis promised to approve it. The new rule would be added to one in Florida that mandates that any pregnant woman seeking an abortion make two appointments with doctors that are at least 24 hours apart. When these rules are combined, many women would not even be aware of their pregnancies before the window of opportunity for legal abortion services closed.
Also, Read the tragic case of “Nashville mayor mourns the 6 school murder victims”
Ron DeSantis declared himself unelectable for President: His dedication and Eagerness
Given what we learned from the midterm elections, DeSantis’ eagerness to sign the legislation represents a significant error in his carefully cultivated public image.
In fact, it would have been a safe bet to presume DeSantis would avoid such an error until very recently. He appeared to be biding his time and letting Trump exhaust Republican supporters’ patience by restating the same old complaints and making no fresh proposals.
In contrast, DeSantis was portraying himself as a governor who got things done while understanding how to attack “wokeness” with vigor and press savvy thanks to his astounding 19-point margin of victory in his race for governor.
DeSantis worked hard to escape the label of a staunch election skeptic, which had cost so many significant Republican candidates their elections in November. Importantly, Florida under DeSantis had a conservative but not extreme stance on abortion, which was previously lawful up to 15 weeks. As a result, Florida served as a haven for those seeking access to abortion in neighboring states with far stricter regulations.
DeSantis stepped in it, and stepped in it badly, against this encouraging background, with the prospect of Trump having three or four indictments hanging over his head, rendering him probably unelectable.
His unofficial effort may now have come to a close. After all, gaining a majority of six or seven swing states is all that stands between any Republican from winning the presidency. To achieve this, winning over suburban voters is extremely essential, and among this group, independent women voters are crucial.
And here’s the point about independent female voters: They don’t like extremists who support abortion. No other issue has the potential to enrage suburban independent women supporters more than one that comes this close to outlawing abortion completely.
Election denialism and the anti-democracy beliefs that were at the core of those who expressed support for annulling valid elections were the other problems that completely alienated the same voters in the midterm elections. DeSantis has taken the position that the United States does not have a critical stake in aiding Ukraine’s efforts to repel a Russian invasion, despite the fact that he managed to avoid being associated with this issue.
Connecting the dots between those who attack our democracy at home and those who won’t resist Putin’s efforts to overthrow it overseas would be a breeze for President Biden.
DeSantis made it clear that he thinks Putin is a war criminal after many Republican leaders in Washington loudly rejected his stance on Ukraine.
In the eyes of Republican primary voters, DeSantis obviously does not want to be outmaneuvered by Trump on foreign policy. However, suburban women voters in swing states will determine the general election, not extreme MAGA primary voters. It is simply impossible to win over that important voting bloc by taking a stance that appears to reassure Putin that we are not steadfast in our opposition to his invasion.
DeSantis may think he can defeat “the woke” and win the presidency, but he had best get a grip and realize that this election will be decided by someone else. Ron DeSantis, however, has already ruled himself out of contention due to his recent stance on abortion availability.
Tom Rogers is the creator of CNBC, a contributor to CNBC, and an editor-at-large for Newsweek. He was the previous CEO of TiVo and founded MSNBC. Currently serves as executive director of Engine Gaming & Media and is a supporter of the democracy-preservation group Keep Our Republic.
