Former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s dueling trips to New Hampshire are underscoring the growing tensions within the GOP ahead of the first presidential debate in August.
DeSantis is facing backlash from the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women (NHFRW) for planning an event Tuesday around the same time the group is hosting Trump. Yet other Republicans in the Granite State have defended DeSantis, and a couple of members of the organization quit in protest against its criticism of the governor.
The tensions that have spilled into public view put the importance of New Hampshire in the GOP primary on full display — as well as the bitter feud between Trump and DeSantis, who has been trailing the former president in almost all polls.
“It’s emblematic of Ron DeSantis’s imploding campaign here in New Hampshire and nationwide,” said Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc.
“The governor has consistently dropped in the polls since his announcement,” she continued. “The more people get to know him here, the less they like him because he doesn’t take many questions from voters, which is not the New Hampshire way.”
Trump’s allies tout his campaign’s early presence in the state. The former president first visited the state this cycle in January, the same month he hired his New Hampshire senior adviser Stephen Stepanek. The former president drew a crowd of 1,500 for a rally at the Hilton Double Tree Hotel in Manchester in April with overflow outside.
“President Trump will 100 percent win the New Hampshire primary for the third time,” Leavitt said. “And I’ve never felt more confident than that than ever.”
But other Republicans say it’s too early to be calling next year’s race.
“The vast majority of people aren’t even paying attention to the presidential primary. Pollsters are doing a disservice to the country by continuing to release these polls that are nationally focused when that’s not the process,” said Alex Stroman, a South Carolina-based Republican strategist. “It may be a good snapshot at the majority of GOP voters across the country, but that will change and that will change drastically between when the first debate and the Iowa Caucuses are held.”
However, DeSantis’s allies say they are keenly aware of the uphill climb he faces taking on a former president in a primary.
“He’s just not able to get the same kind of earned media that Trump is able to get for free and that’s really going to be the big hurdle to get over,” said New Hampshire House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R), who has endorsed DeSantis. “And that goes for every candidate who’s not Donald Trump. I think that Gov. DeSantis is the only one positioned to even be able to try.”
In a statement to The Hill, DeSantis’s campaign described its New Hampshire operation as “top-notch.”
“We are confident that the governor’s message will resonate with voters in New Hampshire as he continues to visit the Granite State and detail his solutions to Joe Biden’s failures,” said Bryan Griffin, press secretary for the governor’s campaign.
The pro-DeSantis PAC Never Back Down is also a major presence for the governor in New Hampshire, releasing statewide ads and boasting more than 83,500 doors knocked on across the state.
“We’ve seen Gov. Ron DeSantis return to New Hampshire time and time again because he’s prioritized the state and the issues that impact its residents the most,” said Dave Vasquez, the PAC’s national press secretary.
Tensions between Trump and DeSantis allies came to a head in the state last week when the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women called out DeSantis and his campaign for holding a campaign event in the Granite State on the same day as Trump. The events have different start times and are an hour away from each other.
“In 25 years of running Republican events in New Hampshire, including many Lilac Luncheons, it has always been a New Hampshire hallmark to be considerate when scheduling events,” said Christine Peters, the group’s events director, in a statement. “To have a candidate come in and distract from the most special event the NHFRW holds in the year is unprecedented.”
However, other Republicans point out that fellow GOP presidential hopefuls Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy also will be in the state on Tuesday.
Kate Day, the former chairwoman of the Cheshire County Republicans in New Hampshire is one of two members who resigned from the group over the statement. Day has endorsed DeSantis for president.
“After the NHFRW Lilac Luncheon announced their event was sold out, the DeSantis campaign announced a town hall for the same day,” Day told The Hill. “This is not unusual, not an issue, and absolutely a welcomed event for those wanting to see Gov. DeSantis. We often have multiple events overlap throughout the state during the first in the nation primary.”
“The NHFRW is a terrific organization, but the press release violated that neutrality,” she said. “Many like myself are baffled why it was ever released.”
Many New Hampshire Republicans say the back-and-forth was generated by Trump allies to hit DeSantis ahead of the dueling visits.
“I think this issue was ginned up by them, and I think they scored points on him with it,” said Jim Merrill, a New Hampshire-based Republican strategist.
Republicans like Merrill say the episode is also emblematic of the grip Trump has on the primary electorate in the state.
“Ron DeSantis is the underdog. Donald Trump is the king of New Hampshire right now until someone dethrones him,” Merrill said. “You’ve got to be aggressive and proactive and I think the DeSantis campaign is doing some of that, but I think this episode is an example that the Trump campaign is going to leave no stone unturned.”
But Trump’s allies in the state, including Leavitt, push back on the notion the episode was devised, noting the group felt disrespected as they were planning the fundraising that raised money for female candidates.
“They spoke out, and good for them for doing so,” Leavitt said.
DeSantis’s allies argue that Trump world’s focus on DeSantis shows they believe the Florida governor’s presidential campaign poses a potential threat.
“All of this noise about DeSantis is being orchestrated by Trump’s allies,” said Dan Eberhart, a DeSantis donor. “It’s strategic. They need to create an alternative media narrative to the one about their candidate and his chances of winning a general election. The DeSantis team just have to ignore the noise and carry on.”