DeSantis is set to stump in Hollis just two hours before Trump is expected to address the women’s group in Concord. But as the closest competitor, there is additional pressure on DeSantis to perform there.Īnd Trump and DeSantis are on a collision course Tuesday, when they have near-dueling events in New Hampshire. It’s a problem vexing every candidate running for the GOP nomination. The state handed Trump his first primary win in 2016, and he remains widely popular among the conservative electorate there. He added, “If he doesn’t turn it around, it could be death by a thousand cuts.”ĭeSantis’ stumbles may say as much about Trump’s strength in New Hampshire as they do about the governor’s own shortcomings. You don’t take on the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women.” “It’s the worst strategic move he has exhibited thus far,” New Hampshire-based Republican strategist Mike Dennehy said. And some Republicans in the state were dumbfounded that DeSantis would walk into a skirmish with a prominent GOP group. He tacitly acknowledged as much by removing any reference to the six-week abortion ban he signed in Florida from his stump speeches in the state, where the majority of voters identify as “pro-choice.”īut as the leading contender against Trump nationally, expectations for DeSantis remain sky-high - even in New Hampshire. Out of the four early voting states, libertarian-leaning New Hampshire was never the most logical fit for the conservative, culture-war wielding Florida governor. “Don’t mess with them, they remember everything.
“If there’s one thing you don’t do in New Hampshire, it’s piss off the grassroots women,” said an adviser to a rival candidate granted anonymity to speak freely. One of them, Kate Day, the now-former public relations chair, told POLITICO the federation erred when it “broke its neutrality in criticizing” DeSantis.īut DeSantis’ opponents were already weaponizing the exchange. They noted that two of the group’s members resigned over the statement targeting DeSantis, with the PAC blasting out their tweets. DeSantis world was quick to dismiss the group’s complaints, saying their event shouldn’t be a distraction since it’s in a different part of the state and at a different time than when Trump is speaking, and that the federation’s soiree is already sold out.
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