Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is now poised as the favorite for president in 2024 after a landslide gubernatorial win on Tuesday night.
Bookmakers tracking likely 2024 candidates and their favorability ratings found that DeSantis is now the favorite to be president, with former President Donald Trump coming in second and President Joe Biden coming in third.
DeSantis is now 5/2 to win the 2024 presidential election, with Trump at 3/1, according to William Hill. Irish bookmaker Paddy Power is offering 9/4 for DeSantis and 7/2 for Trump, per Newsweek.
The Florida governor won reelection against Democratic challenger Charlie Crist in a sweeping victory, 59.4% to 40.0%, on Tuesday night. He was the first Republican gubernatorial candidate to win Miami-Dade County, a heavily Hispanic and historically blue county, since 2002.
Looking at the results so far, the midterm elections have strengthened Biden and weakened Trump, analysts have argued. Despite high-profile endorsements, Trump’s hopeful “red wave” to carry him to 2024 fell short, leaving it hard for him to pack the House and Senate with more supporters before the presidential election.
Several of his preferred candidates, such as Senate hopeful Don Bolduc in New Hampshire and gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon in Michigan, were defeated soundly by their Democratic opponents. A Trump adviser said that “Trump is livid” and “screaming at everyone” after last night’s disappointing GOP midterm results.
Trump has all but officially announced his presidential campaign for 2024, but he is expected to share a “big announcement” from Mar-a-Lago next week. It is unclear whether the GOP missing the mark in the midterm elections will have any impact on his presidential bid.
Biden and the Democratic Party managed to hold off a massive Republican influx, securing key Senate wins in New Hampshire with Sen. Maggie Hassan and Pennsylvania with Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers defeated Trump-supported candidate Tim Michels by a slight margin of 51.2% to 47.8%. However, Senate races in Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia will determine who controls the Senate majority.
The House is nevertheless expected to be under Republican control after all races are called, as the GOP holds 199 seats compared to the Democrats’ 172, inching closer to a 218-seat majority.
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There are already reports of tension between Trump and DeSantis, who are viewed to be the GOP’s front-runners for president. Days before the polls closed in Florida, Trump announced a Miami-Dade County rally with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) but not DeSantis. DeSantis then advertised a rival event four hours northwest in Hillsborough County.
However, Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Monday night that there was “no tiff” between him and the governor, but said it would be wrong of DeSantis to try and challenge him.
