In Nevada, DeSantis Sells Republicans On Ending ‘Culture Of Losing’
In black boots, jeans and a loose-fitting shirt — the fundraiser dress code was “ranch casual” — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday tried to fool Nevada Republican voters, who are still loyal to former President Donald J. Trump. convincing that the party’s formula for winning elections was past its sell-by date.
Headlining a conservative jamboree in the swing state, where loyalty to Mr. Trump still runs deep, Mr. DeSantis never mentioned his rival for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination during a speech in Gardnerville, Nevada.
But the Florida governor tried to create a not-so-subtle contrast between himself and the former president, a former ally who is the party’s overwhelming frontrunner in a crowded Republican field. He described last year’s midterm elections as another disappointment in a string of defeats for the party, while touting his margin of victory of more than 1.2 million votes in his re-election last November.
“We’ve developed a culture of losing in this party,” Mr. DeSantis said, adding, “You’re not going to get a mulligan in the 2024 election.”
Mr. DeSantis spoke for nearly an hour at the Basque Fry, a barbecue fundraiser that supports conservative groups in Nevada.
Steven Cheung, a campaign spokesman for Mr Trump, hit back at Mr DeSantis in a statement to The Times on Saturday.
“Ron DeSantis is a proven liar and fraudster,” he said. That’s why he’s sinking in the polls — both nationally and statewide. He has to be careful before his chances completely disappear in 2028.”
The Basque Fry has grown in esteem since it was first held in 2015, drawing a stream of Republican presidential candidates to the Corley Ranch in the Carson Valley with its rugged backdrop of the Sierra Nevada.
Previous headliners have included Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who entered the race earlier this month, was scheduled to attend in 2017, but he canceled because Hurricane Harvey came down on the Gulf Coast.
It’s an opportunity for White House aspirants to deliver an elevator pitch to mainstream conservatives in Nevada, a crucial early proving ground that will open in 2021 replaced the party-led primaries with a primaries. Republicans oppose the amendment, passed by the state legislature, and are suing the state to hold the primaries.
The visit of Mr. DeSantis to Nevada marked a week in which Mr. Trump dominated the news cycle with his indictment on Tuesday in a 37 count federal indictment over his handling of classified documents after leaving office.
As Mr. Trump’s main Republican rival, Mr. DeSantis did not call the indictment outright, instead repeating GOP attacks on the Justice Department and vowing to replace the director of the FBI if elected.
“We are going to end the arming of this government once and for all,” Mr. DeSantis said.
In 2016, the last presidential election in which the GOP did not have an incumbent, Mr. Trump won the Republican primary in Nevada, where rural activists and Mormon voters wield influence. He finished 22 percentage points ahead of his closest rival, Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
During the midterm elections last fall, Mr. Trump campaigned for Republicans in Nevada at a meeting in Minden, which is next to Gardnerville. The election turned out to be a mixed result for the GOP, which flipped the governor’s office but lost crucial races for the Senate and House, including the seat held by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat considered vulnerable.
Ms. Cortez Masto’s defeat of Adam Laxalt, a former Nevada attorney general who de facto hosted Saturday’s fundraiser, helped give Democrats outright control of the Senate.
Mr. Laxalt, who was a roommate of Mr. DeSantis when they were both naval officers, introduced him to the crowd of about 2,500 people.
“This is the kind of leader we need,” he said.
Mr Laxalt started the Basque Fry in 2015, building on a tradition started by his grandfatherPaul Laxalt, a former US Senator and Governor of Nevada who died in 2018.
Northern Nevada has one of the highest concentrations in the country of people of Basque descenta group that included Mr. Laxalt, who also unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2018.
Jim McCrossin, 78, a retiree from Virginia City, Nev., who inspected the ranch wearing a DeSantis cap, said he had supported Trump before but was concerned about his eligibility.
“I just think there’s so much hate for him,” he said, adding, “Trump has been arrested twice, and that probably won’t be the last time.”
He said Mr. DeSantis “doesn’t have the drama”.
His household is divided: His wife, Jacquie McCrossin, said she still preferred Mr. Trump even though she wore a DeSantis cap.
Shellie Wood, 72, a retired nail technician and gold prospector from Winnemucca, Nevada, who wore a Trump 2020 camo cap, said Mr. DeSantis would make a strong running mate for Mr. Trump, but this was not his moment.
Still, Ms. Wood said Mr. DeSantis made a positive impression on her with his Florida record.
“He rebelled against Disney, and that’s something a lot of people were afraid to do,” she said.
DeSantis repeatedly reminded the crowd of his feud with Disney, which he and other Republicans turned into an avatar of “woke” culture after the company criticized a state law banning classroom education on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Leading up to his formal debut as a candidate last month, Mr. DeSantis struggled with being labeled by the media and rivals as clumsy at retail and in one-on-one situations with voters.
Before taking the stage, with the snowy mountains behind him, Mr. DeSantis mingled with a group of VIPs for about 30 minutes in a reception closed to the news media.
Outside the reception, Casey DeSantis, the governor’s wife, who has been an ubiquitous campaigner and influenced the policies of her husband’s administration, took selfies and signed autographs for local Republicans. She also had boots on.
While Mr. DeSantis impressed many of those in attendance, there was still a pro-Trump undercurrent at the event. Shawn Newman, 58, a trucker from Fernley, Nevada, who hovered over a table of DeSantis campaign swag while wearing an ubiquitous red Trump cap, said Mr. Trump was still his nominee.
“Trump is beyond their reach,” he said of the other Republican candidates.
As Mr. DeSantis worked on a rope after his speech, a man handed him a campaign hat to sign. In his other hand he held a Trump cap.