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A new week brings fresh developments in the Republican presidential primary race. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott suspended his struggling bid. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced a $10 million ad campaign to better compete against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Meanwhile, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spent a day in Israel. One consistent factor amid these changes is the enduring front-runner status of former President Donald Trump.
Straight Arrow News contributor David Pakman argues that the likelihood of anyone other than Trump securing the GOP nomination is extremely slim. Nevertheless, he contends that, regardless of the Republican nominee, the final determinant of the outcome will be voter turnout.
There are Republicans who want nothing more to do with Donald Trump. But their problem is that among the electorate, 60% still want this four-times-criminally-indicted, civilly-liable rapist to be their nominee. And if 60% want that, they’re going to get it.
The question then will become: Who is best suited for the Republicans to defeat Joe Biden? Everybody will point to some poll that makes the case they want to make. The pro-Trump people will say, “Look at the polling, look at the hypothetical polling — Trump does better than DeSantis against Biden.” The people who don’t like Trump will point to the polling and say, “Oh, no, no, no, DeSantis does better than Trump.“
The reality is that we’re a year out. The polling is very much just a generality, and it is almost certainly going to be a close election, no matter who is the Republican nominee. So the message I’m giving the Left is: It doesn’t matter what you think about Biden’s chances, it doesn’t matter what you think about Trump versus DeSantis or whatever. Assume that the election comes down to your vote.
