With his 2020 campaign in full swing, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is increasingly finding himself in the midst of a “dumpster fire.”
The Republican presidential hopeful’s popularity has been steadily declining even among his own party, due in large part to his lack of tangible accomplishments and his embrace of controversial policies while in office.
At the heart of the problem is DeSantis’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic in Florida. The governor has been criticized by his constituents and peers alike for his laissez-faire attitude towards safety guidelines, his reluctance to issue stay-at-home orders and his handling of the state’s reopening process.
Despite his anti-mask and pro-business stances, back at home more Floridians are in favor of stricter measures to avoid the further spread of the virus. His position on the pandemic has not only left him estranged from health experts, but also with an unfavorable public opinion of him.
Furthermore, a number of missteps have detrimentally affected DeSantis’ standing within his party. His silence after several reports about the troubling behavior of Donald Trump Jr. damaged his standing among conservative voters. He also raised eyebrows when he tried to take credit for the successful rollout of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in Florida.
These various missteps have had a toll on DeSantis’ positioning in the polls as well. In the latest survey by Morning Consult, DeSantis was ranked fifth with just 6 percent support. It’s a huge drop from what he was polling at the beginning of the year before he took an official stance on the presidential race.
With Donald Trump’s steady decline in the polls, DeSantis could be looking at a future with no Republican presidential nominee, and yet he does not appear to have a plan to turn his campaign around. For the governor’s sake, one hopes he can find a way to successfully put out the “dumpster fire” of his 2020 campaign before it’s too late.