As Ron DeSantis struggles to keep his poll numbers in the double digits, the former Navy JAG’s campaign appeal to America’s veterans showed some promise at a stop in seacoast New Hampshire on Oct. 24.
Dozens of veterans, many wearing their unit hats, were in the crowd of 400 that turned out for the small, town hall-style event in Rye.
Among them was New Hampshire resident Tom Hoeing, an Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War. He’s a former supporter of President Donald Trump, having voted for him in both 2016 and 2020.
While he still likes the former president, he told The Epoch Times that he believes he has too much baggage. Although undeserved, the “target on Mr. Trump’s back” would be a distraction throughout his presidency, Mr. Hoeing said.
Referring to Mr. DeSantis, he said, “This guy will get the job done just as well if not better without the drama.”
He also called the Florida governor’s stint in the military “a big plus.”
Another Vietnam veteran who supported President Trump in the past added that the U.S. Armed Forces “could use someone who has been where they are” especially with President Trump himself predicting a looming World War III.
“I'll take DeSantis in the White House 100 percent,” said the Rye resident, who asked to be identified only as John.
Was on Active Duty
He is currently the only veteran from either party running for the White House.Should the “Never Back Down” candidate be elected, he would be the first active-duty veteran to serve in the White House since Jimmy Carter.
Since Mr. Carter left office in 1981, other presidents with military ties include Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, all of whom were officers in the reserves.
According to CNN, Mr. DeSantis was advised back in September by top Florida lobbyist Nick Larossi to talk more about his military service. During his five-year stint, he earned a Bronze Star for meritorious service while serving alongside Navy Seals in war-torn Fallujah, Ramadi in Iraq between 2007 and 2008.
Mr. DeSantis, who was on active duty from 2005 to 2010, has said the 9/11 attack on America was what inspired him to enlist.
“I literally said, ‘Why haven’t you told anybody?’” Larossi was quoted as telling CNN. “He kind of laughed about it and said, ‘Well, I don’t like talking about myself.’
The past week on Oct. 19, Gov. DeSantis launched the Veterans For DeSantis Coalition.
According to his campaign, the coalition will “show how Gov. DeSantis’s military service and vision to reverse America’s decline make him the best suited to serve as Commander-in-Chief.”
The group’s inauguration was largely eclipsed by the grisly Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
It has backing from an impressive array of retired military officials, including Mr. DeSantis’ own commanding officer, Dan Bean.
“Ron DeSantis was the smartest Naval Officer and one of the most selfless individuals with whom I ever served,“ Bean said in a statement in joining the coalition. ”I was his Commanding Officer in the Navy and now, I want him to be our commander-in-chief.”
Mr. DeSantis tapped Congressman Rich McCormick (R-GA), a former Navy commander who serves on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, to head the Coalition’s national leadership team.
“We need a Commander-in-Chief who has worn the flag on his sleeve, and truly understands what it means to put service above self,” McCormick said in a statement.
Mr. DeSantis announced the coalition in South Carolina, the home state of one of the biggest thorns in his side—former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. She has climbed to second place in some polls. Others show her in nearly a dead heat with Mr. DeSantis.
Both candidates have a huge gap to make up by the 2024 primary elections. Some polls show President Trump with as much as a 58 percent lead over both Mr. DeSantis and Ms. Haley.
As of right now, with at least a steady 11 to 12 percent in poll showings, both qualify for the third GOP debate.
Only candidates who secure at least 4 percent of the vote in two national polls or a combination of 4 percent in multiple polls can participate in the debate, slated in Miami on Nov. 18.
Out of the other eight remaining GOP candidates vying for the party nomination, only two others qualify—businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
‘Name-Calling’ Cited
Besides Mr. DeSantis being what he called “a solid family man,” Mr. Hoeing, who with his wife Anne has 21 grandchildren, said that another reason he switched his support from Mr. Trump to Mr. DeSantis is because Mr DeSantis does not “get involved” in the “middle school name-calling” that he says Trump and others are doing in the campaign.The Make America Great Again (MAGA) candidate unfailingly refers to Mr. DeSantis as “Ron DeSanctimonious” at every one of his rallies and lately has been referring to Ms. Haley, whom he appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. under his presidency, as “a bird brain.”
Mr. Trump, who supported Mr. DeSantis in his 2018 election for governor, also said that the “only thing” Gov. DeSantis has done right was “to get me to endorse him.” At that time, in a tweet, he called Mr. DeSantis a “brilliant young leader.”
Melissa Blasek, an influential Republican in New Hampshire who sometimes introduces Mr. DeSantis at his appearances in the key primary battleground state, told The Epoch Times that “unlike Trump, DeSantis isn’t an entertainer.”
“This primary will determine if Republicans care about governing or meme-ing about the left being stupid,” said Blasek, a former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives who currently serves as executive director of the conservative group Rebuild NH.
