Why is DeSantis stepping down now?
Over time, it has sunk in for DeSantis himself that the caucuses in the state of Iowa went terribly, let alone that he came in second. In the New Hampshire polls, DeSantis was down in the single digits.
DeSantis spent both time and money in the conservative state of Iowa. Ideologically, DeSantis “should” have made a better choice there, but he’s not reaching Donald Trump’s voters in the Make America Great Again camp. His appearance is seen as dry and he simply does not pass the box as it is called in TV parlance.
In the campaign, DeSantis has spent too much energy on marginal events, while the voters are more interested in the economy and wallet issues. Since a year ago DeSantis was considered the only candidate who could seriously challenge Trump, he may have been overconfident.
Now it’s between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley. Does she have a chance?
Haley’s own message is now: may best woman win! And as you know, there is only one woman left! Although one should be skeptical of opinion polls, Trump has 52 percent of voters’ support in New Hampshire, while Haley has 34 percent. However, the investigation was done before DeSantis stepped down.
Although Haley is far behind, support for her has doubled since November. In New Hampshire, the electorate is considered moderate and she could make a good choice here despite the difficulties of winning over Trump’s core voters.
But of course it’s uphill for Haley. She herself says she wants to continue regardless of how things go in New Hampshire.
Are there any clues about the candidates facing each other in the November presidential election?
Most Americans are moderately fond of a repeat of the 2020 election when Biden and Trump battled for the presidency. And with all the firecrackers and reservations you can put in: right now it looks like it’s going to be just that. Who will win, however, is far from obvious.
If the economy and Americans’ faith in the future improve, President Biden benefits from it. If Trump is convicted in any of the processes in which he appears, he can still continue to campaign, but it will be an uphill battle. Biden has age against him and the fact that Trump still has a very loyal base of voters.
Nothing is done until it’s done and the presidential election will of course be very interesting, but the ongoing primaries are (unfortunately) not quite as exciting as they could be in the US.