PRESIDENT DeSANTIS?

THE OUTSPOKEN, WOKE-BATTLING REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA COULD OUT-TRUMP TRUMP ALL THE WAY TO THE WHITE HOUSE

- STEVE FRIESS

His every utterance seems calculated to send progressives into a frenzy. He’s one of the most prolific political fundraisers in America. His endorsements of other like-minded America First conservative candidates help those beneficiaries pull ahead in crowded primaries. And the worst-kept secret in American politics is that he wants to swap out his Sunshine State address for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as soon as possible.

No, the politician in question is not Donald Trump but rather Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who lately seems bent on executing just about every page of the former president’s political playbook—only with a sunnier demeanor, less offensive language, and fewer of the personal antics that make Trump so polarizing. At 43, the once little-known backbench congressman has transformed himself into perhaps the hottest, most consequential political figure of his generation so far—possibly the only one capable of going head-to-head with Trump for the GOP nod in 2024 and with a shot at taking the presidency away from Joe Biden or whoever the Democrats nominate. The only real question is whether he’ll run against Trump if the former president enters the race or risk his flame burning out by waiting until 2028 or beyond.

“He is Trump without the boorish behavior and name-calling, the insults and the bullying—the very reasons Trump lost suburban women in 2018 and lost a significant number of college-educated suburban men in 2020,” says Jim Dornan, a veteran GOP strategist who worked on Trump’s 2015 exploratory campaign committee and this year is advising Republican candidates in Oregon, Maryland and California. “On the Republican Party circuit, whether it’s in D.C .or the suburbs, DeSantis is the first name that comes up when people start talking about 2024.”