Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is rebuilding his status among conservatives. The governor was once the darling of right-wing media and touted as the man to replace President Donald Trump as the leader of the American Right. His failed presidential bid sunk his starry reputation and made it appear his political career would end along with his term as Florida governor.
But DeSantis has not given up hope for another go at the White House. He’s made peace with Trump and adopted a number of positions to pitch himself as the most conservative successor to the president. This puts him at odds with Vice President J.D. Vance, and potentially Trump himself. DeSantis will have to play the delicate game of distinguishing himself from the president’s assumed heir while also supporting the president. He will have to convince voters that it’s not DeSantis vs. Trump—which killed him in the last election—but DeSantis vs. Vance.
DeSantis hopes to achieve this goal through four key issues that will win over the MAGA base. However, the Floridian will still exhibit the same traits that kneecapped his last presidential bid. Even if these issues resonate with the base, he will still face a steep climb to overcome his liabilities and present himself as the real MAGA candidate.
Here are the issues that will likely animate DeSantis’s 2028 campaign bid.
Immigration Hawkery
It’s clear that DeSantis wants to establish himself as the staunchest immigration hawk among leading Republicans. It’s no longer enough to condemn illegal immigration to make a Republican stand out. He has to call for restricting legal immigration as well. DeSantis makes his mark in this regard.
He recently drew attention to the threat of legal immigration in a tweet about Somali migrants and their alleged tribal feuds that influence election outcomes in Minneapolis. “How does importing ancient tribal blood feuds from halfway across the world into our country benefit the American people?,” he declared on X. “For many Republicans, mass immigration — no matter from where — is ‘good’ so long as it’s legal. Braindead thinking.”
Comments such as that certainly set him apart from the standard Republican. The majority of GOP lawmakers still shy away from opposing legal immigration, and very few will condemn mass immigration as bad for importing blood feuds. The post was received very well by the Online Right.
On concrete policy, DeSantis has decided to lead the charge against H-1B visas. Trump recently fumbled on this issue in his disastrous Fox News interview with Laura Ingraham where he appeared to endorse the widely-criticized visa. (The Trump administration has imposed restrictions on the visa, in spite of the president’s gaffes.) This provides an opening for someone like DeSantis to present a more right-wing alternative. He’s urging Florida universities to pull back from the program and has made several public statements criticizing the visas for taking jobs away from Americans. This issue serves as a way to appeal to anti-Indian sentiment on the internet. DeSantis surrogates and allies such as Christina Pushaw also criticize mass Indian immigration in social media posts. These posts get high engagement. Whether it translates into votes remains to be determined.
The governor’s also been smart enough to partner with Trump on immigration. He built and touted “Alligator Alcatraz” as the perfect holding spot for illegal alien criminals. He’s welcomed Trump’s ICE raids and offered the support of Florida law enforcement to aid in deportation efforts. He’s also vowed to crack down on sanctuary jurisdictions within his state. This has clawed back some of the lost respect for him within MAGA.
But it’s with legal immigration that DeSantis wants to distinguish himself from Vance. The vice president also wants to restrict immigration, but he will have to represent the current administration in the next election. Depending on what the administration does, DeSantis could exploit discontent with the administration not going far enough. While DeSantis himself will likely never make this attack, his surrogates may try to claim that Vance is weak on immigration due to his wife, who has Indian ancestry. The family attacks could backfire for DeSantis, but he may be willing to risk the blowback if he thinks anti-Indian sentiment can help him win. It’s an open question how voters would respond. Notably, Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy easily secured the Republican nomination for Ohio governor, despite his low standing with the Online Right.
Immigration is a smart issue to adopt as a Republican politician. It’s what made Trump president.
Anti-Tech
In his 2024 bid, DeSantis embraced the emerging Tech Right. He announced his presidential run during a glitchy Twitter Space hosted by Elon Musk. The world’s wealthiest man practically endorsed DeSantis in the primary. David Sacks, Joe Lonsdale, and other tech entrepreneurs explicitly backed and funded Ron.
DeSantis is changing tack for 2028 by adopting anti-tech populism. He now rails against the industry’s alleged “transhumanism” and wants AI heavily regulated. He warns about the apparent dangers of data centers and how they will upset the state’s power grid.
Needless to say, he no longer wants to be cozy with the Tech Right. This will distinguish him from Vance. Musk reportedly wants to back the VP in 2028. Peter Thiel and other tech billionaires will also likely support Vance’s bid. DeSantis may think this could be a liability for Vance. Other 2028 hopefuls—such as Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon—have adopted anti-tech populism as a core part of their politics. They believe that the base wants its politicians to counter Big Tech and that association with the industry will hurt a presidential hopeful.
It’s unclear if that’s true. Musk still remains a relatively popular figure on the Right and helped Trump in the last election. Boomers seem to love the AI videos that dominate Facebook and can’t resist asking ChatGPT for basic life advice. Diatribes against transhumanism may not connect with the base as much as some conservatives think. Opposition to data centers, however, could prove to be a potent issue, as there is growing concern about them in communities across the country.
Even if anti-tech populism doesn’t prove to catch lightning with voters, it will at least set DeSantis apart from Vance and others.
Anti-Property Tax
DeSantis is one of the leaders in the crusade against property taxes. This issue has suddenly exploded as a major issue among red state voters. DeSantis claims property taxes undermine home ownership and suggests we may need a national ban on them. He’s pushing for his legislature to pass a bill to eliminate them in the Sunshine State.
Out of all forms of taxation one could oppose, it’s unwise to focus on property taxes. Studies show it’s one of the least detrimental taxes to economic growth. Unlike other taxes, it goes directly to local services within the taxpayer’s community. It would be tough to maintain schools, roads, first responders, and other public services without them. Ending property taxes would likely increase the cost to buy a home (due to increased fees to offset the absence of property taxes) and increase other forms of taxation. It would degrade the quality of life in most communities if these places could no longer fund public services.
Nevertheless, being anti-property tax is a popular position. Texas put two measures to restrict property taxes on the ballot earlier this month. Nearly 80 percent of the state voted for the measures.
Unfortunately for the quality of life in America, this could be DeSantis’s best issue in the 2028 primary. Besides Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, no other Republican is as vocal in condemning this form of taxation.
Pro-Israel
While DeSantis’s other issues are crafted to make the governor seem new and different from past conservatives, his stance on Israel will be resolutely standard fare. Other hopefuls question America’s current relationship with Israel, but DeSantis insists our civilization depends on firm support for the foreign nation.
“You could trace back the history of Western civilization all the way back to the ancient state of Israel and the birth of both Judaism and Christianity, and we wouldn’t have the United States of America if it didn’t trace back to that,” he told radio host Mark Levin earlier this year.
This could be a wedge issue for him to separate himself from Vance. While Vance supports Israel, DeSantis could follow the lead of some conservative commentators who try to attack the vice president due to his association with Tucker Carlson, MAGA’s most prominent critic of Israel. DeSantis could compete for donor support by presenting himself as the true friend of Israel, unlike Tucker friend J.D. Vance.
This stance will undermine his effort to appeal to the Online Right, but that effect may be offset by greater support from the conservative establishment.
Personal Problems
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DeSantis clearly wants to run again. He has an agenda that can grab attention and potentially peel away support from Vance and other challengers. But his core problem remains. As Trump noted in 2023, DeSantis “needs a personality transplant, and those are not yet available.” Even with a new agenda, the governor will still lack charisma and be the same awkward guy interacting with the crowds. Granted, this will be less of a problem without Trump running. But it still puts him at a disadvantage. Charisma and confidence are basic traits for a successful presidential candidate. This is DeSantis’s biggest problem.
His other issue is that he may come across as anti-Trump. He will need to distinguish himself from the vice president and other possible administration officials who choose to run. This may convince him to gently criticize Trump’s decisions and say how he would do things better as commander in chief—a risky move. Every GOP candidate will have to be pro-Trump to compete in 2028. All will try to avoid incurring the president’s wrath. DeSantis’s strategy may invite such a setback.
The Florida governor is a smart guy. He is looking for ways to make himself president, and the issues he focuses on demonstrate his understanding of conservative voters. But he’s still Ron, and he’s not a member of Trump’s administration. That may be enough to doom his second bid for the White House.
