Steve Cortes, a former senior strategy adviser for Donald Trump‘s 2020 presidential campaign, has endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the 2024 Republican primary for president in an op-ed for Newsweek.
Cortes, who has served as a staunch spokesman and advocate for Trump, states that DeSantis is “the best possible option to win the presidency in 2024” and would govern as a “highly capable, patriotic populist leader” if elected.
“I have worked as a dedicated spokesman and advocate for Donald Trump for much of the last seven years, so I do not arrive at that conclusion flippantly. But our America First movement has always been bigger and more important than any one individual, and heading into this crucial election, our activism and our votes must be guided by a clear-eyed assessment of recent failures and potential future successes,” Cortes wrote.
Cortes explains his preference for DeSantis over Trump comes down to three factors: the unappealing prospect of a rematch between Trump and President Biden, the necessity for a Republican victory, and a focus on “discipline and policy results over chaos.”
He cites recent polling data showing that nearly three out of four Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, and only one in five independents think the country is headed in the right direction.
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In light of disappointing Republican losses in 2018, 2020, and 2022, Cortes calls for a new approach to halt the losing trend and pivot to winning candidates and strategies for 2024 and beyond.
He argues that DeSantis is the “most compelling candidate” and points to Florida as the “lone statewide bright spot of November 2022.” In that election, DeSantis won the gubernatorial race by nearly 20 points and helped Republicans achieve a full sweep of statewide offices for the first time since the Reconstruction era.
Cortes credits DeSantis with demonstrating the appeal of “competent governance combined with the fighting spirit of patriotic populism,” which led to significant shifts in constituencies that Republicans have traditionally struggled to convince.
He emphasizes the importance of not only winning the election but also translating that victory into effective policy and governance, an area in which he believes DeSantis excels.
The Florida governor has implemented science-based policies and an enterprise-friendly economic approach, transforming the state into a beacon of economic opportunity and cultural sanity.
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In his op-ed, Cortes urges Republicans to rally behind DeSantis for a “fresh, vibrant, and optimistic agenda, one that includes electoral victory followed by disciplined and focused policy achievements.”
Despite this endorsement, Cortes’ daughter, Kingsley, shared a photo of herself with Trump in the Oval Office, captioning it “MAGA,” just hours after her father’s op-ed was published.
Governor DeSantis has not yet confirmed whether he will seek the GOP nomination for president in 2024 but hinted earlier this month that he would make a decision “relatively soon.”
Political observers anticipate that the conservative two-term governor may announce a presidential campaign following the conclusion of Florida’s legislative session, which ended last week.
“America is a philosophically center-right country, but in recent years it has been governed like some national version of Berkeley, California, because of these preventable election losses,” Cortes wrote. “The days of Republican voters screaming from their couches in anger must end. Without victory, our conservative agendas — however correct or well-formed — mean little.”