 August 26, 2021 | by Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski President DeSantis? Florida voters say 'no.'  The voters who know Ron DeSantis best don't think he should run for president in 2024.
Six in 10 Florida voters said they would not like to see the state's Republican governor become a presidential candidate, while just over 1 in 3 (35%) said they would like to see that, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.
While DeSantis' numbers on the 2024 question were stronger among those who self-identified as Republicans, there was still a decent contingent (24%) of GOPers who would rather he not run.
Those numbers stood out in a poll that was, generally speaking, not too bad for DeSantis.
His overall job approval numbers (47%) outpace his disapproval score (45%). Asked whether DeSantis deserved to be reelected, 48% said he did, while 45% said he did not.
Which makes the 2024 question stand out all the more.
Now, some of voters' hesitation with the idea of DeSantis running for president is natural. Usually when voters of a certain state are asked whether X or Y home state politician should run for national office, they are skeptical -- at least at first.
Call it the you-mean-this-guy? phenomenon. People are used to thinking of a politician as their governor or their senator or whatever. Thinking of him or her as a potential president requires an imaginative leap that isn't in our human nature.
The question for DeSantis is how much of the resistance that the Q poll found to the idea of him running for president is about him in particular. Do Floridians think he is less than suited for the job of president? And if so, why?
The Point: DeSantis has been the hottest name in 2024 politics for the last six months or so. But Florida voters aren't sold -- at least not yet.
-- Chris QUOTE OF THE DAY "We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay." -- President Joe Biden's message to "those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm," after two bombing attacks outside the Kabul airport that killed 12 US service members and dozens of Afghans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ordered the flags at the US Capitol to be flown at half-staff in honor of the service members and others killed in the bombings. MEET NEW YORK'S NEW LG  New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has named her right-hand man. State sen. Brian Benjamin will be New York's next lieutenant governor.
The Manhattan-based Benjamin was elected to the legislature in 2017 to represent Harlem and the Upper West Side, and is already a marked departure from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's long-standing feud with New York City leadership.
"We're going to work with our city partners, get used to that ... city partners," Hochul said in a news conference.
TOP TWEETS  1. Is Sen. Chuck Grassley running for reelection? Here's what he told The Des Moines Register. 2. Star Tribune reporter Jennifer Brooks' annual Minnesota State Fair live-tweet is the next best thing for those who can't make it to the fair this year. 3. Only in New York! 4. A truly stunning visual. 5. This quote is ... unexpected! 6. Bad news for Major Biden.
LAUREN'S GOOD READS  Politico digs into the role that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo played in Afghanistan.
Some Capitol Police officers have sued former President Donald Trump and his allies over election lies and the January 6 insurrection, reports The New York Times.
Some amazing stories behind White House dessert molds, up for auction, in Washingtonian.
In The Washington Post: why people are traveling amid a Covid-19 surge (and what it means).
News you can actually use, also from the Post: the completely correct guide to a canceled flight.
MUSICAL INTERLUDE No one makes more great music than Big Thief and its lead singer, Adrianne Lenker. Unbeknownst to me, the group released a live album called "Live at the Bunker Studio." It's, as usual, terrific.
Also, take the time to listen to an instrumental album Lenker released earlier this year called, appropriately enough, "instrumentals."
-- Chris BAD SCENARIO FOR SENATE GOP  Former NFL star Herschel Walker is the leading Republican candidate in the Georgia US Senate race, but his candidacy is worst-case scenario for Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as the party seeks to oust freshman Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.
In the latest episode of The Point, Chris outlines why Trump's support explains the Walker run.
Stick with The Point on YouTube and subscribe.  ONE GOOD LISTEN  Join CNN Audio for the stranger-than-fiction story behind the 2003 California recall election that replaced a sitting governor with America's most famous action hero.
In "Total Recall: California's Political Circus," CNN's Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash will unpack the scandal, partisanship and celebrity of the Golden State's 2003 recall election – and explore what it might have forecast about politics today. Listen to the trailer now. You are receiving this message because you subscribed to CNN's The Point with Chris Cillizza newsletter. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get The Point in your inbox.
Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski. You can follow Chris and Lauren on Twitter and connect with The Point on:
Our mailing address is:
Copyright © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., All rights reserved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Top Scopings
-
Plus: The high costs of housing, school board politics and alien life abroad July 16, 2021 View in B...
