DeSantis ramps up its retail campaign in New Hampshire
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hinted Friday how he might try to soften his image as a conservative hardliner, a strategy that appeared designed to target more moderate voters in the state, which has a centrist reputation and could prove decisive in the Republican primaries.
During a discussion with state lawmakers outside of Manchester, NH, Mr. DeSantis, who is expected to announce his candidacy for president next week, focused largely on purse and family issues of broader appeal, including school choice, tax cuts, crime and inflation, rather than of than aspects of the more divisive social agenda he pushed as governor.
Mr. DeSantis, for example, barely referenced his legislation on transgender issues and did not touch on abortion at all. Last month, he signed a six-week abortion ban, one of the strictest in the country. (New Hampshire restricts abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy.)
“If you look at what we’ve been able to accomplish,” Mr. DeSantis said of his Florida legislative record, “there’s something in it for everyone in terms of the issues we’ve addressed.”
DeSantis needs a strong showing in New Hampshire — along with a win in more conservative Iowa — to demonstrate that he will stay in power in the race against his main rival for the Republican nomination, former President Donald J. Trump, the allies of the governor. and some of his political advisers say.
Mr. Trump is 20 points ahead of Mr. DeSantis in New Hampshire, according to a opinion poll in mid-April from the University of New Hampshire Research Center. The challenge for Mr. DeSantis lies in how he differentiates himself from Mr. Trump, not only in terms of policy, but also in terms of personality.
“The message is very similar, but there are a lot of people, and I’d count myself among them, who are offended by Trump’s rudeness,” said Mark Pearson, a New Hampshire state representative representing Mr. DeSantis. and supported the Manchester event on Friday, which took place at the Bedford Village Inn. “Elections are won in the middle. The battle is won with the Bedford soccer moms, who are moderate Republicans, teaching their kids to talk politely, and Trump rejects them.
On a private conference call with donors and supporters a day earlier, Mr. DeSantis argued that he was the only Republican to win a general election — and pointed to his support from New Hampshire lawmakers, about 50 of whom have backed him. Last month he also visited the state.
The legislators who supported him, Mr. DeSantis said on the call, “said similar things like, you know, the governor is the man, that he can win, he can get things done, all those other things.”
Mr. Trump won New Hampshire in 2016, a win that put him on the path to clinching the Republican Party nomination after losing Iowa to Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Mr. Trump won the state, even though he preferred large gatherings to the more intimate politics that New Hampshire residents say they want to see from candidates.
“In New Hampshire, it’s about meeting almost every voter,” said Jason Osborne, the Republican State House Majority Leader who has supported Mr. DeSantis. The important factor for the governor, Mr Osborne said, is whether he “will be able to connect with people as he meets them in person, looks them in the eye and describes his vision for the country.”
Following his remarks to lawmakers, Mr. DeSantis met with voters in Manchester at the Red Arrow Diner, a mainstay of any presidential campaign that has already received a visit this year from Nikki Haley (who enjoyed the “Haley Hashbrown Specialread a post on the restaurant’s website) and Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as Mr. Trump.
Doug McGinley, a retired wealth manager, snapped a photo of his grandson standing with the governor outside the diner. Mr McGinley said he did not want to vote for Mr Trump, whom he sees as self-serving. But Mr. DeSantis isn’t sold yet.
“I need to see more of him firsthand,” Mr. McGinley said. “I want to see if he can catch fire at a retail level. I’m glad he’s doing things like this.”
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.