DeSantis' influence plummets in Florida amid troubled presidential campaign: report

As Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sees his support dwindling in the GOP primary, it appears as though he may also be losing influence among his most staunch supporters in his home state of Florida. 

According to Politico, members of the Republican Party of Florida have begun to urge their members to attend all GOP events in the state. Seemingly to give cover for those who don't want to be seen as supporting former President Donald Trump simply for attending a dinner at Mar-a-Lago with him. 

The outlet interviewed dozens of lobbyists, political consultants, and lawmakers, to which it concluded that many are begging to distance themselves from the Florida Governor. 

One consultant who works in Tallahassee said, "You don’t get the assumption they are measuring drapes anymore — they are waiting for him to drop out." 

A Florida lobbyist claimed that "There’s no love lost between the Legislature and DeSantis." They added, "They are faking it. They are waiting long enough to see the king drained of all his power. It’s a slow-motion coup.”

DeSantis still has his supporters, like Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, who noted that he had the "session of the century" this year. "you would have to go back to Jeb Bush to find a governor with this kind of a record," he added. 

“He’s still a very effective governor, he’s the most effective governor I have had a front seat to watch,” state Rep. Alex Andrade told the outlet. "I see him as governor. I couldn’t care less what is going on nationally.”

DeSantis Campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin brushed off the accusations that the governor has lost support in Florida. "Of course lobbyists, the D.C. crowd, and the agenda-driven college board members will have unpleasant things to say," he said. "Ron DeSantis stood up to all of them to do the right thing and deliver for his constituents.

The DeSantis campaign has been struggling from the moment it launched on X (formerly known as Twitter) in May when he polled with 22% of support in the primary. By the end of August, the Florida Governor was down to 15%, fighting for second place with political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, and his Never Back Down PAC ending its door-knocking campaign in Super Tuesday states.