DeSantis’ campaign tactics may drive independent voters to Biden, say strategists.

Gov. DeSantis Needs to Win Over Independent Voters to Secure the White House

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) will have to fight former President Donald Trump for independent voters, but using some tactics could push the key voting bloc away from Republicans and push President Joe Biden to reelection.

Independent voters are going to be a key voting base for 2024 presidential candidates, particularly for the GOP as it tries to make up for a less-than-expected performance during the 2022 midterm elections. To secure the party nomination and eventually the White House, DeSantis will need to find common ground among voters.

Appealing to Swing Voters

Strategists note that in 2022, swing voters opted to vote for Democrats because they found Republicans’ alternative solutions to hot-button issues such as abortion and gun rights to be too extreme. Instead, in 2024, Republicans will need to focus on criticizing Biden on less volatile topics that appeal to independent or swing voters to avoid a repeat of 2022 losses.

Sarah Longwell, founder of the Republican Accountability Project, told CNN that taking aim at the Democrats’ response to inflation, immigration, and crime is “really good for swing voters – these are things that the average right-leaning independent voter will go for.”

However, Longwell warns that DeSantis risks alienating swing voters by trying to out-MAGA Trump and focusing too much on culture war fights. Instead, he should focus on topics that appeal to moderate or right-leaning voters, such as inflation, crime, and immigration.

DeSantis’s Record and Results

Republican pollster Chris Wilson believes that DeSantis’s record and results on the economy, education, and running a competent and efficient government without the runaway spending and inflation of the Biden years appeal to swing voters. While presenting a heavily right-leaning agenda will appeal to the conservative base for the Republican primary, it could damage DeSantis’s chances of securing swing voters when he’s up against the Democratic nominee, most likely to be Biden, in the general election.

Tempering Messaging for the General Election

Longwell said DeSantis has a chance to temper his messaging in the general election, benefiting from his success in Florida and the age contrast with Biden. However, she said that means he needs to stave off polarizing agendas, or else face the possibility of permanently alienating voters needed to secure the White House in 2024.

“The problem for Republicans, in general, can be summed up by the fact that the gap between what base voters demand and what swing voters will tolerate has gotten very wide,” she said. “It is a chasm that is almost untraversable. It’s too wide.”