Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are all two-term Republican governors who once made headlines as presidential contenders before failing and fading into obscurity. However, DeSantis is still the popular incumbent governor of the nation’s third-most-populated state, with term limits ending in January 2027. His national profile has cooled, but his wife Casey DeSantis believes that 2024 was “their moment.”
DeSantis and his wife Casey believed that 2024 was “their moment,” believing that the governor’s skills were uniquely matched to the current political climate. However, early signs of a DeSantis defeat became obvious, and he dropped out on Jan. 21, 2024, after placing a distant second in the Iowa caucuses. Trump warned him that DeSantis would lose the cherished and massive MAGA vote and never be able to successfully run for office again.
At least for 2028, DeSantis is a non-factor whose name is barely mentioned. A popular betting site shows the governor with only a 3 percent chance of winning the GOP nomination. A primary poll average has him supported by just 10.7 percent of Republican voters, although he leads Rubio, who has 8.6 percent.
Vance is the one now enjoying the “moment” dreamed about by Ron and Casey DeSantis, with 49 percent support among Republican primary voters and at two leading betting sites, a 55 percent and 53 percent chance of winning the nomination. For DeSantis, nagging questions remain: where will the former governor land in January 2027? How will he stay relevant and newsworthy?
