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SALT LAKE CITY — When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke at the Utah Republican Party organizing convention in April, he was widely rumored to be considering a challenge to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
DeSantis will visit Utah again on Friday, and this time he's nearly two months into his official campaign and in need of a boost after consistently trailing the former president in national polls.
And it appears the Utah connections DeSantis made while here in April are paying off, as he will appear alongside several state leaders at a press conference on Friday before attending a fundraiser hosted by Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton.
He will also meet with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox at some point on Friday, although it's unclear if Cox will attend the fundraiser.
I think Utahns kind of like a nicer politician, and DeSantis has a couple of rough edges, but I do think he's the Republicans' best choice of retaking the White House next year.
–State Sen. Todd Weiler
DeSantis emerged as a leading challenger to Trump after he had a relatively strong showing in the November 2022 midterm elections. He appeared to be the heir apparent to the Republican Party for those who were ready to move on from Trump — including many Utah politicians who signed a letter asking DeSantis to run.
State Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, was one of the initiators of that letter, and is one of the prominent Utah Republicans now voicing support for DeSantis.
"I think Utahns kind of like a nicer politician, and DeSantis has a couple of rough edges, but I do think he's the Republicans' best choice of retaking the White House next year," he told KSL NewsRadio on Wednesday. "I think it's still early and I think there's still going to be a lot of movement in the polls."
Weiler said he's afraid that giving the 2024 nomination to Trump — who remains extremely disliked by Democrats and independent voters — would help President Joe Biden win another term in office.
A recent YouGov poll shows that 91% of Democrats and 59% of independents have unfavorable views of Trump, while 82% of Republicans view him favorably.
"I look for a candidate who has values that I'm looking for in a presidential candidate — which DeSantis does — and I'm looking for someone who can win," Weiler said.
In order to reach the White House, though, DeSantis must thread a tight needle by winning over enough of Trump's Republican base to gain the party's approval, without alienating too many independent voters and swing Democrats who will be necessary to win a general election.
So far, DeSantis has arguably run further to the right than Trump, especially when it comes to social issues. His campaign shared a video attacking Trump on his past support of gay and transgender people that some Republicans called "homophobic," and signed a 6-week abortion ban into law in Florida earlier this year.
And while DeSantis doesn't have the same level of opposition from Democrats and independents, 50% of independents in the same YouGov poll view him unfavorably, and he is viewed less favorably by Republicans than Trump.
That's where Utah comes in.
As one of the most conservative states in the nation, with a history of reticence toward Trump — a recent Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found Trump and DeSantis essentially tied in the state — Utah Republicans could help give DeSantis' campaign a much-needed boost.
