Ron DeSantis: ‘I Think Nevada Is Definitely Doable for Us’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a presidential candidate vying for the 2024 Republican nomination, expressed confidence in a recent interview with Nevada Globe that he can win Nevada.

The presidential hopeful discussed during the extensive interview how a conservative can win over the swing state.

“Nevada is split three ways: 30 percent Democrats, 30 percent Republicans and 30 percent Independents. When we look at the past elections in Nevada, the Republican presidential candidate lost by 2 percent,” the Nevada Globe observed.

“Adam Laxalt only lost by about 8,000 votes to Catherine Cortez Masto. How do you get over that gap and how do you sell a conservative message in a swing state like Nevada?” the outlet asked the presidential hopeful.

DeSantis pointed to the political landscape in Florida over the past six years, noting that there were more than 300,000 registered Democrats in Florida in 2018. That reality deteriorated for Democrats over the years, and in 2021, for the first time, Florida Republicans had more registered voters in the state than Democrats. That figure has only continued to increase over the years. According to Florida Division of Elections data, as of April 30, Republicans had 472,780 more registered voters than Democrats in the state.

DeSantis appealed to the changing landscape in Florida and its swing state status and suggested that the same trend can happen in Nevada.

“What we did was we led boldly and we led with conviction. We ended up winning by 1.5 million votes. But you know, Florida was every bit of swing state as Nevada is,” he said, crediting his success in the midterms to “delivering results, bold leadership, standing out on COVID as a free state…all these things, we moved people in our direction.”

“I think people respond to leadership, I don’t think that they view it as much like, ‘oh, you’re too liberal, moderate, conservative.’ I think they look at you and ask, ‘Are you making sense?’ and ‘Are you delivering?'” DeSantis said, adding, “I don’t see cede any issue to the left.”

He continued:

For example, I’ve done the biggest environmental restoration of the Everglades in Florida history that had not been done because the Sugar companies ran the policy. Well, I ran against that and said I’m going to fix it. This is not wacko, lefty stuff. This is core things that help our water supply, help the health of our rivers and our bays, and it’s something that has huge Republican and Democrat support. I just took the bull by the horns, and I did it. Education. You know, we don’t cede that to the left. Yeah, we do school choice. Yeah, we do parents rights and focus on some of that. Incidentally, a lot of independents and Democrat parents agree with us, standing up against Disney and all the like, but I also supported our teachers with big pay increases and I don’t let it go to the union. It can only go to the teacher. It can’t be diverted from anywhere else.

“What I try to do is just, I don’t leave meat on the bone. I try to get as much done as I can. Not everyone likes everything you do. But if you’re active and you’re delivering, people do respect that,” he said, expressing confidence that Nevadans could respond in the same way.

“So, I think Nevada is definitely doable for us. I think people here are sick of Biden. I think they know that he has not done a good job. I don’t think they want another four years of it, but I do think they want a vehicle of somebody that’s going to be looking forward, not backwards, and is going to be someone that I think has a proven record of success,” DeSantis added.

Notably, Biden took Nevada in 2020 by 2.4 percent, or 33,596 votes.

A recent survey from American Greatness showed Trump boasting a dominant lead in Nevada, leading the Republican primary field by 32 points.  Further, a McLaughlin & Associates survey, commissioned by former Rep. Lee Zeldin’s (R-NY) Leadership America Needs PAC, found Trump leading President Biden by a single percentage point in the Silver State:

NEVADA 2024 POLL: commissioned by Lee Zeldin's Leadership America Needs PAC (R)

PRES:
(R) Trump: 48%
(D) Biden: 47%

SEN
Generic Republican: 48%
Jacky Rosen (D-inc): 46%

⦿ @jmclghln (R) | 05/22-24
⦿ D37/R37/I26 | 400 LV | ±4.9%https://t.co/V4Q6TgEVYT pic.twitter.com/trPUg7Uoee

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) June 6, 2023

DeSantis recently visited Nevada as part of his most recent campaign blitz, where he poured drinks at a VFW post in Sparks and joked, “I’ll serve you anything except Bud Light.”

VIDEO — Ron DeSantis at Bar: “I’ll Serve You Anything but Bud Light”
Lindsey Curnutte via Storyful