Ron and Casey DeSantis get soaked in New Hampshire
It rained Tuesday during the Ron and Casey DeSantis parade in New Hampshire.
The Republican presidential nominee, his wife and daughter Madison got soaked as they marched in a Fourth of July parade in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
The two laughed it off as they greeted supporters, smiling as they marched through the downpour. Merrimack is a small town near Manchester with a population of 25,000.
Earlier in the day, the family marched in a parade in Wolfeboro, NH, as DeSantis tries to raise his polling numbers in the state hosting the nation’s first presidential primary.
Florida’s first couple was in good spirits, despite one of its closest allies admitting that his campaign is “way behind” and that Donald Trump is the “runaway frontrunner.”
Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, his wife Casey and their daughter Madison walk in the Fourth of July Parade in the rain in Merrimack, New Hampshire
Casey DeSantis gave Madison a lift while Ron DeSantis waved to the audience
Several presidential candidates came to the state for the Fourth – Tim Scott also marched in the Merrimack parade.
However, Donald Trump leads in the state. He outscores DeSantis, his closest competitor, by 28 points in the RealClearPolitics Poll Average.
The former president spent the holidays at his golf club in Bedminister, NJ, but last Tuesday he was the keynote speaker at the New Hampshire Federation of Women’s Lilac Luncheon, their largest annual fundraising gala.
And he campaigned in South Carolina on Saturday.
Other presidential candidates were in Iowa on Tuesday, where the country’s first primaries are being held.
Mike Pence marched in the Urbandale, Iowa, Independence Day parade along with former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.
DeSantis’ July 4 appearance in New Hampshire comes after a spokesman for his super PAC gave a candid assessment of the 2024 race, admitting “we’re way behind” and Trump the “runaway frontrunner.”
Steve Cortes, a former Trump surrogate who is now the spokesman for DeSantis’ Never Back Down PAC, participated in a Twitter Spaces discussion Sunday night with anonymous Twitter user CryptoLawyerz.
Ron DeSantis shakes hands with a supporter during the rainy parade
Casey DeSantis carries Madison on her back as she marches after husband Ron in the rain
The DeSantis family laughed off the rainy weather
Ron DeSantis trails Donald Trump in New Hampshire polls
Cortes said he switched to Team DeSantis because he believed the governor was more eligible than Trump — but that’s if he makes the Republican primary.
“Right now we’re way behind in the national polls, I’ll be the first to admit that,” Cortes said. “I believe in being blunt and honest. It’s an uphill battle, but Donald Trump is clearly the runaway leader.”
Cortes said he believed the primary — which attracted at least 11 mainstream Republican candidates — was actually thanks to two people, Trump and DeSantis.
He said DeSantis was the “clear underdog.”
“In the first four states, which matter a lot, the polls are a lot tighter, we’re still clearly behind,” he said. “We’re down by double digits, we have work to do.”
In Iowa, the state holding the first GOP caucus, Trump currently has a 21.3 percent advantage over DeSantis, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average.
In New Hampshire, that number rises to 28 percent.
In South Carolina, DeSantis performs slightly better, but Trump still beats him by 19.7 percent.
No significant public polls have yet been conducted for Nevada, which is also generally one of the first four states to hold primary or primary elections.
While Cortes got involved politically thanks to Trump, he decided to move to team DeSantis because he was looking for the “most conservative, most patriotic populist, most electable candidate.”
Trump, he said, “unfortunately has not won any voters.”
“I think he shed quite a few,” Cortes said.
Cortes still spoke warmly of Trump — saying a hard-line primary against DeSantis would help the former Republican president.
“If we don’t win — and I have every intention of winning, I didn’t sign on for this to finish second — but if we don’t win, I’ll tell you this, we’re going to make President Trump better through this kind of primary ‘ said Cortes.
Steve Cortes, the spokesperson for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s super PAC, joined a Twitter Spaces conversation Sunday evening and gave a candid assessment of the 2024 Republican primary race
On Monday, Trump’s campaign had a field day with Cortes’ comments, highlighting the quotes and a Politico article on the Twitter Spaces interview.
Ron DeSantis is losing badly and Donald Trump is a patriotic populist. Those are two very true statements. Both were said last night by DeSantis spokesman SteveCortes to “Super PAC Never Back Down,” according to an email from the Trump campaign Monday.
“Between DeSantis’ terrible launch on Twitter Spaces and Cortes’ nightly confessional, perhaps the DeSantis camp should take a break from the medium,” the Trump campaign also said.
DeSantis’ presidential announcement on Twitter was plagued with glitches and was labeled a flop.