DeSantis will present his new book, The Courage to be Free, and speak about his Florida Blueprint in the city of Davenport and Des Moines, the Iowa capital.
Coincidentally, former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) is also scheduled to hold a rally next Monday in Davenport where he will deliver a speech on education.
According to local media, the move is significant as the country’s primary will begin in that state; Additionally, it would be the governor’s third trip outside of Florida in recent days after stops in Texas and California over the weekend.
Last Tuesday, DeSantis delivered his annual state of the state address, in which he touted his populist and ultraconservative policies, seen here as the launch pad for his future campaign.
In fact, he has hinted that tension over his bid will end after the Florida Legislature closes in May.
A series of recent polls shows that he is considered Trump’s most competitive Republican challenger and that the two would put up a close fight in a hypothetical showdown for the party’s nomination.
The former Oval Office resident had competition in terms of his image and likeness, and quite a few describe DeSantis as “more Trumpist than Trump,” according to local press reports.
The governor won re-election on Nov. 8 with a landslide victory over Democratic challenger Chris Christie, turning a fundamental swing state into a solid Republican.
Just this Friday, a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll will be released measuring state residents’ views of Trump, DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Of the four, only Trump and Haley have launched their campaigns; However, it is still too early to make predictions.
History is littered with examples of candidates who started their careers in an impressive way, only to disappear in the blink of an eye.
That list includes former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 2008 and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2016.
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