The pressure was on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at the first GOP Presidential debate.
A poor performance could have been the end of the line for his campaign.
But Ron DeSantis had a big smile on his face when he heard what New Hampshire’s Republican Governor told CNN about his debate performance.
After his landslide reelection victory in the 2022 Midterm elections that turned Florida into a solid Red state, most political analysts viewed Governor Ron DeSantis as the one candidate who could take the GOP nomination from Donald Trump.
But DeSantis failed to gain traction after a strong launch where his campaign raked in over $8 million in the first 24 hours.
The Florida Governor soon faced a cash problem that resulted in the firing of 38 campaign staffers and a new campaign manager.
Facing a cash crunch, DeSantis also developed a new strategy of focusing solely on the early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada.
Of the four early states, DeSantis is focusing the most on Iowa and New Hampshire.
And DeSantis stepped up to the plate on Wednesday with a solid debate performance that caught the attention of the Republican Governor of an early Primary state.
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu made waves last week when a picture surfaced of him standing next to the pro-DeSantis Super PAC Never Back Down’s bus.
But in an interview after Wednesday’s debate, Sununu praised DeSantis’ performance as “very well.”
“DeSantis did very well,” Sununu said. “No one attacked him,” he continued, before adding that “yes, no one attacked him.”
Sununu said this allowed DeSantis “to look right in the camera, make a strong case, and do exactly what he needed to do.”
“He, I think, shored up his conservative credentials,” Sununu continued. “If you will, he looked Presidential.”
Sununu predicted in an interview with CNN that the strong performance would “change the trajectory” of DeSantis’ campaign.
“I think he did a very good job reaffirming . . . why he was so popular, you know,” he said.
Sununu has yet to endorse a candidate in the Presidential Primary.
But as the popular Governor of an early Primary state, his endorsement is one that every Republican candidate would love to have.
And Ron DeSantis could be well on his way to earning Sununu’s support in 2024.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
