'We are still clearly down': Top DeSantis ally admits Trump is the GOP’s 'runaway forerunner'

04 July 2023

To Ron DeSantis' cheerleaders, the two-term Florida governor offers the Republican Party its best chance to move on from Donald Trump in 2024. But a long list of polls has found DeSantis trailing Trump by double digits in the GOP presidential primary, and Politico reports that one of DeSantis' allies is sounding the alarm.

In an event held on Twitter on Sunday night, July 2, GOP strategist and DeSantis supporter Steve Cortes acknowledged, "Right now in national polling, we are way behind. I’ll be the first to admit that. I believe in being blunt and honest. It's an uphill battle, but clearly, Donald Trump is the runaway frontrunner."

Cortes went on to say that DeSantis is "the clear underdog" in the GOP primary, noting, "In the first four states which matter tremendously, polls are a lot tighter. We are still clearly down. We're down double digits; we have work to do."

Nonetheless, Cortes sounded optimistic when interviewed by Politico the next day and argued, "I am convinced that Gov. DeSantis will outperform expectations and inform large audiences about his amazing life, political record, and winning agenda for the presidency."

A Fox News poll released in late June found DeSantis trailing Trump by 34 percent among Republican primary voters. And an NBC News poll released several days before that showed Trump with a 29 percent lead over the Florida governor.

Politico's full report is available at this link.

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