Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election, is making his first visit to Nevada as an officially declared candidate.[0] He is scheduled to headline the 8th Annual Basque Fry event in Gardnerville, hosted by Adam Laxalt, former state Attorney General and a 2022 Senate candidate. Laxalt is heading a Super PAC backing DeSantis, Never Back Down, the only candidate-affiliated GOP group that has spent money on ads in Nevada so far.[1] According to AdImpact, an advertising analytics firm, just over 1% of ad spending in the GOP primary, $557,000 out of $40.3 million, has targeted Nevada.
DeSantis’ trip to Nevada marks the last of the four early states he has visited, with Republican candidates focusing on the other early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Laxalt believed DeSantis’ re-election as governor proved he could rule with conservative principles and still attract female voters and independents, which he held up as a selling point to Republicans interested in moving away from Trump.[2] However, Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign, made a comment about DeSantis looking for a “set of balls,” which received a response from DeSantis’s communications director, Erin Perrine.[3] She stated, “The Trump team’s obsession with men’s genitalia is more perverted than a woke grooming book.”[3]
Former state chair of the Trump campaign in Nevada, Laxalt, pointed out that “Trump hasn’t won Nevada the last two go-arounds.”[2] He added, “I was a two-time Trump chair.[4] I don’t see a path for him to win Nevada in a general election.[2] Those voters are not coming back.” Laxalt also said that Republicans need to compete in ballot harvesting and ballot drop-off boxes, which Democrats are using.[2] He commented, “We’re going to have to compete in ballot harvesting and these methods – and everything could count.”[2] However, Matt Budowich, a veteran GOP strategist, criticized DeSantis’s campaign, saying “They’re just largely spinning their wheels without articulating a path to winning a single state.”[2]
In any case, the Republican primary is devolving way ahead of schedule, and it is only June.[5] With just over 1% of ad spending in the GOP primary targeting Nevada, the presidential contenders have focused their campaign travel on other early-voting states. Speakers at the Basque Fry event include Dana Loesch, a radio and TV host and former National Rifle Association spokesperson; Dave Rubin, a political commentator and host of The Rubin Report talk show; and Nevada-based officials Gov.[6] Lt. Gov., Joe Lombardo and Rep. Mark Amodei[7] Stavros Anthony, and Laxalt.[7]
0. “DeSantis heads to Nevada as GOP field focuses on other early states” NBC News, 14 Jun. 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/desantis-heads-nevada-gop-field-focuses-early-states-rcna89288
1. “Trump world gets testy as Ron DeSantis encroaches on his Nevada turf” Yahoo News, 16 Jun. 2023, https://news.yahoo.com/trump-world-gets-testy-ron-110000808.html
2. “Trump, DeSantis’ teams get into ballsy exchange ahead of Nevada lamb testicle festival” Daily Mail, 16 Jun. 2023, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12202723/Trump-DeSantis-teams-ballsy-exchange-ahead-Nevada-lamb-testicle-festival.html
3. “Trump Campaign Mocks DeSantis Over Lamb Testicle Event” UPROXX, 16 Jun. 2023, https://uproxx.com/viral/desantis-trump-nevada-balls-testicle-festival/
4. “So There’s a Trump-DeSantis Dick and Balls Fight Going On Right Now” Mediaite, 16 Jun. 2023, https://www.mediaite.com/politics/so-theres-a-trump-desantis-dick-and-balls-fight-going-on-right-now/
5. “DeSantis Super PAC: The Trump Campaign is “Obsessed With Men’s Genitalia”” The New Republic, 16 Jun. 2023, https://newrepublic.com/post/173743/desantis-super-pac-trump-campaign-obsessed-mens-genitalia
6. “Adam Laxalt on supporting presidential candidate Ron DeSantis” Reno Gazette Journal, 15 Jun. 2023, https://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/06/15/2024-us-presidential-race-ron-desantis-donald-trump-adam-laxalt/70323381007/
7. “Laxalt’s Basque Fest brings Florida Gov. DeSantis to Gardnerville on Saturday” The Record-Courier, 16 Jun. 2023, https://www.recordcourier.com/news/2023/jun/16/florida-gov-desantis-due-in-gardnerville-on-saturday
