Washington — The calculations of America's presidential election map are shaken by the start of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' campaign.
The tremor is not limited within his Republican Party and former President Donald Trump's campaign, but also extends to the camp of Democratic President Joe Biden, where at the top of the calculations of both parties comes what DeSantis represents as a "young candidate" (44 years old), while Biden exceeded eighty, and Trump is only two years away from him.
"I am running for president of the United States to lead our great American comeback," DeSantis said at the launch of his presidential campaign on Twitter, and then spoke of the "future," which was not frequently repeated in Trump's or Biden's speeches.
The Republican camp is crowded with many candidates, but there is a consensus supported by repeated polls pointing to the duality of the struggle for the party ticket between Trump and DeSantis.
DeSantis has a track record of achievements valued by conservative currents that are the backbone of the Republican Party. During his time in office, DeSantis enacted high-profile conservative laws, such as: facilitating gun ownership, restricting sex and gender education in primary schools, tightening voting rules, limiting abortions, as well as tackling irregular migration.
His willingness to confront big business, as with Disney, which he sees as advancing a liberal agenda, suggests that he believes hot-button cultural issues are a greater concern for Republican voters than traditional pro-corporate policies.
Trumpism without Trump's hustle
DeSantis' agenda is a magnet for many Republican voters who voted for Trump in the last two election cycles, representing Trump's policies without Trump himself and the unnecessary clamor and excitement he causes. Trump understands that DeSantis is such a powerful adversary that he does not stop attacking him on every possible occasion, at a time when DeSantis has not started the campaign to attack Trump.
That attracts female voters in the Republican Party and younger voters, as well as moderate conservative suburban residents, especially after Trump's image was severely shaken among Republican women after he was convicted of sex crimes two weeks ago in New York City.
Trump, on the other hand, will use his legal troubles to play on the chord that he is persecuted by the "deep state." At the same time, however, facing the judiciary creates trouble for Trump, especially with the availability of an alternative candidate whose policies are not much different from Trump's.
While Trump accuses his "former student" of treason over running for president, DeSantis is playing his card that he provides more stable and disciplined conservative leadership than Trump has shown.
DeSantis' campaign began asserting that Trump is the only Republican who "can lose" against Biden.
As Trump continues to lead in the polls, DeSantis still has an important challenge: convincing some of Trump's less enthusiastic supporters that he is a better version of "original Trumpism."
Confusion in Democratic calculations
During a primary tour of Iowa last week, DeSantis said of running in the upcoming election, "You basically have 3 people at this point who have credibility on this whole thing, Biden, Trump and me."
"With simple thinking, there are two who have a chance to be elected president: Biden and me, and that's based on all the data in swing states, which isn't great for the former president (Trump), and probably insurmountable because people won't change their view of him," he said.
Democrats are upset that President Biden, 80, will have to face a 44-year-old candidate, younger than his son Hunter Biden, 53. Democrats prefer to confront Trump, who is only two years younger than Biden.
DeSantis is a nightmare for Democrats, appearing as a family-loving man with an attractive wife and three young children under the age of ten, which could appeal to a larger proportion of independents whose votes are ultimately decided by swing states.
If DeSantis wins and appears in presidential debates, the age difference will be very clear to American voters, in addition to President Biden continuing to make mistakes due to his poor mental fitness due to age, which DeSantis will exploit and highlight to independent voters.
For Democrats, Trump represents an easier confrontation than DeSantis, as the Florida governor does not carry a legacy of 4 years in the White House, in addition to what Biden's campaign can exploit against Trump, especially his legal troubles that are not over yet.
"We all favor running against Trump, but we hate DeSantis equally, so the fact that we can watch Trump and DeSantis devour each other, further alienating the swing voters who will decide the outcome of this election, makes us feel confident against either," says one Biden aide.
At the same time, several senior aides of DeSantis confirm that the governor of Florida will soon launch a vigorous campaign in a number of traditionally swing states aimed at unleashing his youthful energy, attacking his older rivals: Trump and Biden.