The first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 23 is shaping up to be a make-or-break moment for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, experts told NBC News on Monday.
Supporters, donors, and voters are all looking at the debate in Milwaukee as an event that could re-establish DeSantis as a strong alternative to former President Donald Trump or deliver a death blow to an already ailing campaign.
“The debate is of vital importance for Gov. DeSantis,” Dan Eberhart, a donor to the campaign, told NBC. “He urgently needs to change the story arc and regain momentum.”
DeSantis’ campaign has been underwhelming since its official launch in May. His poll numbers remain stagnant, donors have grown restless, and he has fired more than 40% of his campaign staff in recent weeks as Trump continues to hold a commanding lead.
This puts even more pressure on DeSantis to do well in the debate and on the prime-time national stage it provides.
“If he bombs, it’s full-blown tailspin at that point,” said Republican strategist Gregg Keller, who has worked on presidential campaigns dating to George W. Bush in 2004. “You do this long enough and you don’t believe any early narrative. Yet I personally have become convinced that DeSantis has some very, very substantial problems.”
DeSantis campaign allies say the debate's national exposure will only bolster him, giving the governor the chance to show off his intelligence and political record, among the attributes they say got him elected twice in Florida.
“Donald Trump lost the first presidential debate to Joe Biden because he is a good showman, but he is not a good debater because it highlights his weaknesses," Ken Cuccinelli, founder of the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC, told NBC. "Whereas in Ron DeSantis’ case, it showcases his preparation, his brainpower and his application of it all to the benefit of ordinary Americans’ lives. So I look very forward to his performance in those debates as a place to expand his forward-looking vision for America.”
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican who decided against a presidential campaign but prefers to see the GOP nominate someone other than Trump, said of the first debate and its importance to a DeSantis comeback that “it’s absolutely huge.”
Sununu spoke to NBC in Des Moines after listening to DeSantis’ speech, which he found impressive.
“If he comes [to the debate] with the energy that he just brought here tonight, he’s going to do very well,” Sununu said. “He had the crowd. He didn’t just have people interested, he had them excited. But that’s kind of the formula they all need to find.”
Bill Stepien, who managed Trump’s 2020 campaign and is not currently working for any campaign, said that “no one needs a win on the debate stage more than Gov. DeSantis. Best-case scenario? He lays out the case for his candidacy in a way that he has failed to do thus far and reminds people that they once considered him to be the viable alternative to Donald Trump. Worst-case scenario? He continues his streak of failing to meet expectations and his campaign bleeding continues.”
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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