Former GOP Governor Flames DeSantis Campaign As ‘One Of the Worst I’ve Seen’: It’s ‘Close to Being Over’

Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said it’s all but over for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential campaign.

Hogan sat down for an interview with Major Garrett of CBS News on Wednesday and discussed the state of the GOP field. Former President Donald Trump maintains leads that are well into double digits over his rivals, the main one of whom is currently DeSantis. The governor was widely viewed as a viable alternative to Trump, but his distant second-place showings against Trump so far have curbed that view – at least for now.

“As you look at the Republican field, Governor, evaluate Ron DeSantis so far,” Garrett said.

“I think DeSantis really underperformed,” Hogan replied. “He started making all kinds of mistakes. I think the campaign is one of the worst I’ve seen so far and he’s dropped like a rock.”

“Is it over for DeSantis?” Garrett asked.

“I think it’s getting close to being over,” he replied.

“If you were to describe the central mistake he made, what would it be?” the reporter inquired.

“The culture wars,” Hogan responded, referring to DeSantis leaning into cultural issues such as abortion and LGBTQ issues. “The dumb comments about Ukraine. The fact that he–he’s got some strengths, but he’s also got some weaknesses. I mean, he just doesn’t connect with people. He’s not a good campaigner. He’s not a good debater. He’s a smart guy, went to Yale and Harvard.”

“Doesn’t lead with that,” Garrett quipped.

“Doesn’t lead with that,” Hogan echoed. “He says he went to school in the northeast somewhere. But yeah, I think, you know, everyone was thinking he was the guy to beat and now I don’t think too many people think that.”

Watch above via CBS.

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