Shadow campaign: Three politicians testing the waters for a presidential run

Jack Birle

April 16, 07:00 AM April 16, 07:00 AM

Several candidates have already declared their candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, but there are a few politicians who are still testing the waters.

These contenders have not said they are running for president, but they're making moves as if they are running a presidential campaign from the shadows.

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Ron DeSantis

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has visited several key primary states, including Iowa, New Hampshire, Georgia, California, and New York, among other states. Many of the tour stops were to promote his book The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Survival, which was released in February.

In private, DeSantis has reportedly told people he intends to run for president and has claimed to donors that he is the only Republican who can beat President Joe Biden.

The Florida governor's name has been thrown around the presidential race for months, with a super PAC encouraging DeSantis to run and another super PAC aligned with former President Donald Trump releasing an attack advertisement against DeSantis.

DeSantis, by all indications, is going to make a run for president. He is reportedly expected to announce a White House bid in late May or early June, following the conclusion of the state's legislative session.

Gavin Newsom

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has insisted that he is not running for president but appears to be quietly positioning himself as a candidate for president in either 2024 or 2028.

Newsom has created the Campaign for Democracy, a political organization aimed at combating Republican leaders in other states by targeting their policies. He vowed to go "on the road to take the fight to states where freedom is most under attack" in his announcement video.

The week after announcing the organization, Newsom was spotted in Florida meeting with students at the New College of Florida. Newsom has been a vocal opponent of DeSantis, saying last week that he would get "rolled" by Trump in the Republican primary.

"He is going to get rolled by Trump. Trump's just gonna roll him, thumped. Honestly, if I were offering him political advice, I would tell him to pack up and wait a few years," Newsom said. "And actually do some of the hard work, which actually includes governing not just identity and cultural war."

Newsom has endorsed Biden for 2024 and has constantly denied rumors of a run for president next year, but he has not commented on running in 2028.

Mike Pence

Former Vice President Mike Pence has made appearances in pivotal primary states, including Iowa and New Hampshire, and spoke at the NRA's annual conference this weekend.

Pence has previously said that he has received "a lot of encouragement" to jump into the 2024 GOP primary and has teased that an announcement is coming soon.

He has been tracking at third in the Republican primary, per the RealClearPolitics polling average, behind Trump and DeSantis. After four years of serving as a loyal foot soldier for Trump, Pence and the former president's relationship appeared to be irreparably damaged on Jan. 6, 2021, and he has not been afraid to criticize his former boss since leaving office.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who had long been seen as running a shadow campaign for 2024, announced a presidential exploratory committee last week. Scott has moved closer out of the shadows but is not officially running for president yet.

The only major Republican candidates who have declared are Trump, former Govs. Nikki Haley (R-SC) and Asa Hutchinson (R-AR), and entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy. On the Democratic side, author Marianne Williamson and lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have declared, while Biden is expected to announce a bid later this year.

Trump says alliance with DeSantis 'very unlikely': Report

Misty Severi

March 24, 09:31 PM March 24, 09:34 PM

Former President Donald Trump said an alliance with likely primary challenger Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is "very unlikely."

Trump, who credits himself as the person who put DeSantis on the map politically, said he had never considered DeSantis a potential running mate for the 2024 election.

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"No, I think that would be a very unlikely alliance," Trump told Newsmax on Friday.

"We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party. I've never thought of it, but, you know, some people every once in a while mention it, but that's about it," Trump said.

DeSantis has also dismissed the idea of being Trump's running mate. He called himself an "executive guy."

Trump again took credit for DeSantis's success. He cited his role in getting him elected over former Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.

"I appointed him," Trump said. "He was failing badly in the polls. He was out of politics. He was going to be out of politics, and I endorsed him, and he went from a very small number to a very high number. I had rallies for Ron, and we got him in. Then a couple of years later, they said, 'Would you run against the president for president?' He said, 'I have no comment.' I said, 'That's not supposed to happen.'"

Although Trump did help DeSantis get elected in 2018, DeSantis won reelection in November by nearly 20 percentage points without Trump's approval.

Trump then claimed that even if DeSantis decided to run, he would not get elected on the national level because of his alleged voting record while he was in the House of Representatives. For example, DeSantis voted to raise the retirement age to 70 in 2013.

"If you look at his record, he can't win because he voted against Social Security; he voted against everything," Trump said. "He voted against things that are so important. Medicare. He voted against Medicare. He wanted to raise the age substantially of people getting Social Security."

DeSantis recently told WHD News that despite voting for nonbinding budget resolutions that called for raising the retirement age, he does not support touching the entitlement programs of Social Security and Medicare now.

DeSantis has not publicly announced a bid for the White House but is expected to announce a final decision in the summer. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are the only candidates aside from Trump to announce a run to be the Republican nominee.

California Republicans prefer DeSantis to Trump: Poll

Jack Birle

March 02, 03:29 PM March 02, 03:29 PM

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) leads former President Donald Trump in both a crowded field and head-to-head among Republican voters in California, as the governor is set to speak at a fundraiser for the Orange County GOP.

DeSantis leads Trump in a crowded field by 37%-29%, and he beats the former president by 50%-33% head-to-head, in a poll conducted by The Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies last month.

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The Sunshine State governor is coming to California next week to speak at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley at a sold-out fundraiser. The event is part of DeSantis's book tour, but it could be a chance to gain favor among Republicans in the Golden State ahead of an expected presidential run.

DeSantis has not announced a presidential run, insisting he is focused on governing Florida. However, he is expected to launch a bid in late May or early June, once the state legislative session concludes. Trump handily won California in the GOP primaries in 2016, but it was after all major candidates had dropped out.

The same survey indicates California remains safe territory for Democrats in the 2024 general election, with Biden leading DeSantis and Trump by 23 and 30 percentage points, respectively. The last time a Republican presidential candidate won the Golden State was George H.W. Bush in 1988.

DeSantis's popularity has increased among California Republicans, especially as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has made the Florida governor his chief rival. Newsom ran television advertisements in Florida last July, telling Floridians to leave the state, arguing that in California, "we still believe in freedom." Later in 2022, Newsom sent a letter to the Justice Department demanding it prosecutes Florida and Texas over transporting immigrants to liberal areas, including New York City and Martha's Vineyard. At the time, DeSantis joked that Newsom's "hair gel was interfering with his brain function."

Newsom has said he will not run for president in 2024, and his constituents do not seem to want him to run based on recent polling.

California's presidential primary elections for the Republican and Democratic parties are scheduled for March 5, 2024.

Jeb Bush throws support behind Ron DeSantis challenge to Trump

Brady Knox

February 27, 06:20 PM February 27, 06:20 PM

Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) heaped praise on Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), backing him as a model candidate for the White House.

In a WHD News special, Bush said DeSantis should run for higher office, arguing that it was time for a "generational change" in politics.

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“Who better to do it than someone who’s been outside of Washington, who’s governed effectively, who I think has shown that Florida can be a model for the future of our country,” Bush said when asked if DeSantis should run for president.

“He’s been a really effective governor. He’s young. I think we’re on the verge of a generational change in our politics — kind of hope so. I think it’s time for a more forward-leaning, future-oriented conversation, our politics, as well,” he added.

Bush compared DeSantis favorably to his father, former President George H.W. Bush, relating how they had both played baseball. He also gave him an "A" ranking for how he performed during crises.

DeSantis received support from Bush, who has a well-known dislike of former President Donald Trump, who quashed Bush's presidential aspirations in 2016 and heavily disparaged his brother, former President George W. Bush. Trump announced his candidacy in November.

DeSantis hasn't announced his candidacy but is expected to do so over the summer.