Fox’s Cavuto Presses DeSantis On Dropping Out Of Race
With former Vice President Mike Pence out of the race and Nikki Haley surging, Fox News’ Neil Cavuto asked a question on Tuesday that many Republicans are asking. Will slumping Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis step aside in the 2024 GOP presidential race?
Cavuto addressed the governor directly on FNC’s “Your World” and noted recent polling trends.
The host said, “Nikki Haley has emerged as a strong polling favorite. She’s tied with you in Iowa, and that has come really following her very tough talk of not only supporting Israel and Ukraine but backing them both up with the money they need and not debating the issue.”
Against this backdrop, Cavuto continued by noting that Haley is gaining traction and “you’re not.” He further suggested that she’s now viewed as an acceptable second choice behind former President Donald Trump.
DeSantis resisted, restating his declaration that the U.S. should accept no Gaza refugees. The Fox News host, however, continued.
He observed that at one point DeSantis appeared to be an acceptable Trump alternative. But with Pence gone and the governor’s prior statements that the Republican race should shrink to two or three candidates, what will he now do?
Cavuto pressed on. “If you don’t emerge as one of those two to three, would you step out of the race?”
DeSantis doubled down, proclaiming he is in the race until the end. Asserting that “it’s not about the polls,” he boldly predicted that his campaign will win Iowa.
Numbers from Iowa paint a much different picture.
According to a Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom poll released on Monday, Trump is lapping the GOP field with 43% of the vote. Haley and DeSantis are currently tied with 16% of the take, representing a strong push by the former South Carolina governor.
As for DeSantis and Trump, the national numbers are even more starkly in favor of the former president.
The latest RealClearPolitics average of surveys conducted from Oct. 4 to Oct. 29 showed Trump with a staggering 46.4% lead over the Florida governor. Flash back to Feb. 27, and Trump only led DeSantis 43.2% to 30%.
Putting aside Desantis’ campaign struggles, it is easy to see how the blatant Democratic legal persecution of Trump translated into strengthening his base of support.
As for the Florida governor, it may be time to take an honest look at his chances and reassess the future.
