Facing a long summer of running from behind former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is for now resisting calls to dramatically change course in his presidential campaign, instead targeting the first debate in late August as his opportunity to alter the trajectory of the race.
Multiple sources told CNN that the DeSantis campaign doesn’t anticipate national polls fluctuating much before then – leaving him largely in the same position he has been since entering the race seven weeks ago: a well-funded second-place contender who is far ahead of most of the field but trailing Trump considerably.
Some Republicans invested in his candidacy fear DeSantis is wasting valuable time to gain traction against the unprecedented campaign of a former president still popular with the GOP base. DeSantis, though, is urging patience, insisting it’s still very early in the political calendar.
DeSantis will convene top donors and fundraisers in South Florida next Friday for a retreat where his campaign will provide an update on the race, two sources with knowledge of the event told CNN. While the retreat has been on the schedule for weeks, it is taking on new urgency as DeSantis’ campaign seeks to assure its biggest benefactors it has a long-term strategy for toppling Trump.
“I never expected to just snap fingers and all of a sudden, you know, you win seven months before” voting happens, he told Fox’s Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. “You got to earn it and you got to work. And it requires a lot of toil and tears and sweat. And we’re going to do that.”
Managing expectations is an unfamiliar position for DeSantis, whose sharp ascent to Republican stardom was fueled in part by a self-assured swagger and an unrelenting style. Donors gravitated toward DeSantis’ confidence as he was anointed the future of the party after winning reelection by nearly…
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