DeSantis PAC spokesman concedes Trump the 'runaway frontrunner' in GOP primary

A spokesman for the Ron DeSantis-aligned Never Back Down PAC painted a grim picture of the Florida governor's campaign position during a Sunday evening Twitter Space.

"Right now in national polling we are way behind, I’ll be the first to admit that," said PAC spokesman Steve Cortes, according to Politico. "I believe in being blunt and honest. It’s an uphill battle but clearly Donald Trump is the runaway frontrunner."

The Florida governor currently trails the ex-commander-in-chief by 30.9%, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.

"In the first four states which matter tremendously, polls are a lot tighter, we are still clearly down. We’re down double digits, we have work to do," he admitted. He further contended that an unsuccessful DeSantis run would still have merit by virtue of forcing Trump to improve his campaign for the general election.

"If we do not prevail — and I have every intent on winning, I didn’t sign up for this to come in second — but if we do not prevail I will tell you this, we will make President Trump better for having this kind of primary," he added.

DeSantis entered the race in late May, announcing his campaign a Twitter Space with platform owner Elon Musk, though that event was marred by technical difficulties. 

The Florida governor surged to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, largely due to his refusal to implement strict lockdown measures. His landslide 2022 reelection in a recently purple state escalated talk of a primary challenge to Trump and he remains the clear second-place candidate in virtually every poll.

He has, however, largely failed to gain momentum against Trump even as the former president faces multiple indictments related to his alleged mishandling of classified materials and a 2016 payment his then-personal attorney, Michael Cohen, made to Stormy Daniels. Trump denies wrongdoing in both cases.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.