TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A day after the first GOP debate, pundits question whether Florida's governor got the boost his presidential campaign needed.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, at times, was overshadowed by the others on the Milwaukee stage — giving some the impression he was more a wallflower than a brawler.
Like almost everyone else in the race, DeSantis claimed victory, Thursday, doing a post-debate lap on morning talk shows and networks like Fox News.
"There's a lot of people out there that said a lot of things," DeSantis told FOX anchor Brian Kilmeade. "I was the only one who has actually delivered on these issues."
But on stage hours earlier, DeSantis dodged questions on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, abortion and climate change and didn't really deliver the viral moments of rivals like Vivek Ramaswamy.
Political experts are now wondering whether DeSantis will see any gains at all, which he needs more than ever as new polling shows ongoing slippage. One of the latest national surveys had DeSantis in third, behind Ramaswamy. Former President Donald Trump remained on top with a commanding lead.
Barry University Professor Sean Foreman thought DeSantis played it safe to avoid further losses.
"DeSantis mostly avoided conflict and skirmishes with the other candidates, and so he is not getting as much attention in the post-debate analysis," Foreman said. "Perhaps that is the way the DeSantis camp wanted it to be, to glide through without much damage and to remain as the most viable alternative to Trump."
University of South Florida professor Josh Scacco said the governor became more of an "afterthought" on stage as other candidates tussled over the questions. DeSantis' chance to break out seemed to come and go.
"That's not going to happen if you're laying back in the background waiting for your moment to deliver a prepared line," Scacco said. "We saw, in a lot of ways, the incredible disappearing DeSantis last night during the debate."
The DeSantis campaign is now dismissing the growing narrative. Team DeSantis spokeswoman Carly Atchison said she "totally disagreed" with the assessment.
"I think Ron DeSantis rose above the fray," she said. "He was presidential, and he stayed focused on the mission, which was to tell the American people who he is and what he's done. He had some really great moments."
Atchison also discounted current polls and touted the campaign's ground game in states like Iowa. She noted more than 11,000 have pledged to support DeSantis for the first-in-the-nation caucus.
Even so, Florida Democrats in a Thursday news conference predicted the governor's primary defeat was coming. Party Chair Nikki Fried suggested DeSantis' return to the state Capitol instead of the nation's could mean a different dynamic for the GOP supermajority in Tallahassee.
"The biggest loser last night was Ron DeSantis," Fried said. "It's going to be on the Republicans of Florida to decide whether or not Ron comes back and has a platform, or they finally stand up to him and say enough is enough."
The second GOP primary debate is now on the horizon. It's set for Sept. 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. The qualifications are even stiffer to make the stage — meaning we might start to see some dropouts in the GOP field.
