Trump’s efforts to overshadow DeSantis in Florida take center stage

A Florida Republican lawmaker, after flipping his support to former President Donald Trump, is now publicly questioning Gov. Ron DeSantis’ support for the Jewish community. Another state lawmaker, spurned by DeSantis earlier this year, is actively recruiting more of his colleagues to jump on the Trump bandwagon. Meanwhile, a cadre of former DeSantis political operatives who stopped working for the governor on poor terms are now entrenched in Trump world and motivated to embarrass their former boss.

Welcome to the 2024 Revenge Tour.

In the tug of war for home-state supremacy, Trump has gained the upper hand in part by exploiting rifts between DeSantis and Florida Republicans. The strategy has played out easier than the former president’s team anticipated, as DeSantis has left a wake of ill will in the state on the path to political stardom.

As the 2024 campaign descends on Florida in the coming days, the ever-evolving relationship between the state’s Republicans and these two leading figures will be on full display.

Trump, DeSantis and the rest of the GOP primary field will address Florida Republicans at a state party event Saturday just outside Orlando, where support for both candidates will be closely measured. DeSantis has a midday time slot, sandwiched between Florida Sen. Rick Scott, his predecessor in Tallahassee who he doesn’t get along with, and state Rep. Randy Fine, the state’s only Jewish Republican lawmaker who recently asserted DeSantis hasn’t done enough to stop Nazis and antisemitism in Florida. Scott announced Thursday he was endorsing Trump, while Fine switched his allegiance to the former president last month.

Before Trump closes out the event with the keynote address, Republicans in the room will be primed by two staunch Trump allies in Florida, Reps. Byron Donalds and Matt Gaetz.

Then, on Wednesday, the Republican Party will hold its third presidential debate in Miami. Trump, who is skipping the debate once again, has scheduled counterprogramming just down the road in Hialeah. The next day, Trump will host Florida Republicans at Mar-a-Lago, a continuation of his courtship of party leaders and donors, while DeSantis will attend fundraisers in the state.

At the same time, in a demonstration of DeSantis’ continued command over the GOP-controlled state Legislature, lawmakers are returning to Tallahassee next week at his urging to pass new sanctions against Iran following Hamas’ attack on Israel last month. They will also seek to address the state’s property insurance crisis, a concern that continues to generate negative headlines for DeSantis back home.

The governor’s influence in the Sunshine State, once unquestioned, has repeatedly taken hits in recent months. His struggles as a presidential candidate have emboldened some Republicans here to break from DeSantis less than a year after he orchestrated the most dominant electoral victory in a Florida gubernatorial race in modern history. With the Iowa caucuses fast approaching, Trump’s lead in early nominating states and national polls appears sturdy while DeSantis has slipped into a distant second place alongside a surging Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor.

His attempts to reassert himself as the state’s dominant political force have repeatedly run into enemies he has accumulated over the past decade.