For some political reporters, it is hard to believe that in the year since Ron DeSantis announced his bid for president, nearly $160 million has been spent by his presidential campaign and by the independent super PACs supporting the Florida governor.
Team DeSantis brought in disparate political operatives to run the operations, major endorsements came in early, and some polls showed DeSantis slightly trailing or even ahead of former President Donald Trump among likely Republican voters.
All that is ancient history in terms of current presidential politics. DeSantis' official campaign has changed campaign managers. The Never Back Down Super PAC supporting the Floridian has gone through three chairmen, including former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt (U.S. Navy buddies Laxalt and DeSantis were also in each other's wedding parties).
Jeff Roe, who has overseen winning campaigns for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, was considered a "catch" when he became senior adviser to Never Back Down. But his clashes with other DeSantis operatives — one of which reportedly led to a near-fistfight — ended with his recent exit from the super PAC.
"From almost day one, the DeSantis campaign and the super PAC has been replete with problems," veteran North Carolina political analyst Marc Rotterman told Newsmax.
"Although flush with cash, they were top-heavy with staff and had a huge burn rate," he continued. "Internal turf battles took precedence over delivering a clear and concise message that framed what a DeSantis presidency might look like. The phrase 'political malpractice' comes to mind."
To some who have covered past presidential campaigns, the plight of DeSantis evokes memories of the campaigns of Govs. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Jeb Bush of Florida in 2016 — both of which began with a lot of money, endorsements, and well-paid political operatives but ran out of steam fast.
To a few older political reporters, Ron DeSantis' campaign in 2024 is most reminiscent of that of John Connally — the magnetic former governor of Texas and Democrat-turned-Republican who was briefly a major contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 1980.
A lifelong Democrat and one of the closest political proteges of Lyndon Johnson, Connally served six years as governor of the Lone Star State.
His wounding by a gunman in the 1963 shooting that took the life of President John F. Kennedy made him a known figure worldwide. He served as Richard Nixon's secretary of the treasury from 1971-1972, headed up Democrats for Nixon in 1972, and finally switched parties a year later — just as the Watergate scandal that would lead to the GOP's darkest hour was breaking.
When Connally announced his bid for the presidency in 1980, he and his supporters privately felt that former U.N. Ambassador George H. W. Bush and Senate GOP leader Howard Baker would be considered too moderate by the grassroots primary voters and that the Texan would emerge as the alternative to front-runner and conservative hero Ronald Reagan.
In the first reporting period for campaign contributions, Connally made headlines by reporting $2 million — a big amount for the time, and especially impressive at a period when there were no super PACs and contributions were limited to $1,000.
Rita Martinez Solon, a member of Connally's campaign staff in 1980, recalled how "my job was to call all those who contributed over the federal campaign limit and tell them I was returning their check."
"I have never been so yelled at in my life," she continued. "They were livid they could not give John any amount they wanted."
Endorsements followed from such political heavyweights as Michigan GOP National Committeeman Peter Secchia, a close friend of former President Gerald Ford, and South Carolina's veteran Sen. Strom Thurmond.
Connally was able to pay for high-powered campaign operatives, among them Mississippi's governor-to-be, Haley Barbour, as his southern political director.
Most importantly, he hired veteran national GOP operative Eddie Mahe as campaign manager. In his memoirs, Connally wrote, "Eddie Mahe's real value to me was in his long-term Republican connections and in his knowledge of the other players. Eddie was sincere and honest, but he had no concept of how to regulate the flow of money and was incapable of performing the role I asked him to perform."
Mahe would soon clash with old Connally hands from Texas, notably veteran Austin public relations man Julian Read.
"Julian thought he could run the campaign all by himself on his consulting fees, which were enormous," recalled Solon, "He was patrician and polished and couldn't see how Eddie, who was rough and unkempt, could put John Connally in the White House."
Eventually, Mahe left the campaign and was replaced by Charles Keating, the Ohio banker who later became notorious for the "Keating Five" senators who admitted taking gratuities from him.
"Those guys were not Connally's biggest problem," said another veteran of the campaign. "The fact is, Republican voters just didn't like him. We would have big events like barbecues or rallies and get the names of attendees and then follow up with them to help on the campaign and this is the kind of response we got so often: 'Oh, I don't want to support the guy for president, I think he's a crook and way too close to Nixon. I just wanted to see the guy who got shot with Kennedy.'"
Connally essentially skipped Iowa and New Hampshire and, with the help of Thurmond and former Gov. Jim Edwards, focused his energy on South Carolina. He lost to Reagan by 54% to 30%, with Bush in third place at 15%. He withdrew from the race, having spent $26 million and acquired only one delegate anywhere.
It's difficult to say whether DeSantis will follow the example and fade fast after a major buildup in the press and among financial backers. But it is at least fair to say that, two weeks before the first Republican sentiments are learned in the Iowa caucuses, there are similarities.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.