WASHINGTON--The first Republican debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign is shaping up as a crucial moment for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who badly needs some momentum in his challenge to former President Donald Trump for the party's nomination. Complicating the matter for DeSantis: Trump, by far the front-runner in the race for the right to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden, appears unwilling to provide him with a target. Trump has said he plans to skip the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee.
If that happens, DeSantis himself likely would become the focus of attacks from other candidates looking to climb past him and brand themselves as voters' primary alternative to Trump, according to interviews with rival campaigns, Republican political advisers and a former presidential candidate. A Republican strategist close to Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who is also seeking the nomination, said the field is likely to treat Trump "gingerly" and instead train their fire on DeSantis, who is expected to occupy the center slot on the stage. "The guy on the stage in the No. 1 spot is probably going to be taking more heat than the others," said the strategist, who spoke on condition of anonymity and was offering his views on the Republican field in general and not about Haley's strategy in particular. Rival campaigns smell blood in the water as DeSantis has faced questions over profligate campaign spending and his readiness for the national stage. In the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, released last week, Trump held 47% of the Republican vote nationally, with DeSantis dropping 6 percentage points from July down to just 13%.
None of the other candidates due to attend the debate have broken out of single digits. Hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, the biggest individual donor to a group supporting the DeSantis presidential bid, told Reuters on Friday he will not donate more money unless the Florida governor attracts new major donors and adopts a more moderate approach. Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator and Republican presidential candidate who participated in a series of debates in the 2012 election, said DeSantis will need to be ready for an "onslaught" of attacks. During the early primaries when Santorum briefly held center stage as the front-runner, he was widely viewed as having a tough night trying to defend his record in Congress. "I didn't prepare to be the center of attention," Santorum said. "I didn't prepare enough for the attacks and where the attacks were going to come from. And it cost me." The DeSantis campaign declined to comment on his debate preparations. A former U.S. Navy attorney who graduated from Harvard Law School, DeSantis can be an effective sparring partner, said Justin Sayfie, who served as a top adviser to Republican Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and presidential candidate. "I have to believe he will be well prepared to punch back hard when he gets punched," Sayfie said.
