He was said to be the rising star of the Republican Party. Younger and more dynamic than Donald Trump, but less prone to financial scandals and diversions in his personal life. Ron de Sandys, Florida’s governor since 2019, was seen as a credible alternative for the more conservative wing of Republican voters. And yet, in recent months, 77-year-old Donald Trump has emerged as the undisputed favorite.

A first crucial showdown between the former US president and the governor of Florida will take place next Monday, in the Iowa primary. Speaking on the CBS show “Face the nation” Ron de Sandys recalls his political stigma, starting with the critical (also in the US) issue of immigration.

“When I’m elected president—we know, of course, that this is a federal issue, but—we’re going to empower individual states and local governments to take additional action,” de Sandys says. “Because today we have a situation where the federal authorities are responsible for enforcing the law based on the constitutionally guaranteed supremacy of federal law, but the federal authorities are not exercising their authority in good faith…”

“With underestimate» says de Sandys

“When I’m elected president…” Big talk was what the governor of Florida said. While Donald Trump “flips between courtrooms and campaign rallies,” as CNN points out, Ron de Sandys hasn’t made up ground in the polls. In July, he fired 38 people from his campaign staff in an attempt to recover. Just recently the group Never Back Down, which has spent $40 million to buy airtime for de Sandys, canceled ads in Iowa and New Hampshire.

However, the governor of Florida remains optimistic. “We’re doing well in Iowa, and you know, I like everybody to underestimate me a little bit,” de Sandys tells CBS. “But there is great excitement. As we enter 2024, we see more and more undecided voters coming to our own rallies. But this is a long process. We’ll do well in Iowa, but we’ll be competitive in all the other states as well.”

He was once called “Trump’s favorite child.” Today Ron de Sandys is attacking Trump, but his attacks don’t go beyond the well-worn. However, the governor of Florida, who is particularly comfortable in front of the television lens, criticizes the pre-election tactics of the former president. “I would be happy to have a debate with him here on your show or in New Hampshire if you prefer,” de Sandys told CBS reporters. “If he thinks he’s just going to come in here, talk to a tokio for 45 minutes and then leave, that tactic is not going to work, not in Iowa, not in a lot of other states…”

Ultraconservative agenda

If anything, Ron de Sandys can boast that he hasn’t lost an election to date. Moreover, unlike Trump who failed to implement many of his campaign promises during his term (due to strong opposition in Congress), in Florida de Sandys has a rich “track record” of legislative initiatives that implement his ultra-conservative agenda. He didn’t even hesitate to take issue with the Disney conglomerate when they criticized his plans to restrict teaching about gender identity.

“We have a lot of great ideas to change this country,” de Sandys said shortly before the Iowa caucuses. “I’ve shown Florida how we can succeed. And if you look back at the last election, with the legal issues and the criminal charges of Donald Trump and all of those things, I think the next election is going to be dangerous, and I don’t think the Republicans are off to a good start with all of that. We must focus on our political positions, we must choose a candidate who will achieve a clear victory. We have to look ahead…”