DeSantis shortly to announce his presidential campaign?
On March 9, following a week of campaigning, fundraising and promotional activities it emerged that Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis had sold more copies of his new book - "The Courage to Be Free" than books by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump managed in their first week. Over 94,000 copies had been sold according to firm NPD BookScan who track retail book sales.
The news suggests that while DeSantis may be a divisive character whose politics and priorities don't echo with everyone, there are many who are keen to read more about his career so-far. In contrast, Donald Trump's 2015 book "Crippled America", timed to coincide with his presidential campaign sold just 27,687 copies.
The confirmation of his book sales came just a day before new rumours emerged that DeSantis is to run for president in 2024.
Appealing to his base
On February 24, DeSantis offered his most loyal and avid fans the chance to pick up a rare, limited signed copy. He is offering signed editions of the book for $50, or a limited, numbered series of 5,000 signed first-editions for $75.
The sale of the signed editions of the book seems to be another example of the DeSantis fundraising machine in action and could result in a few more thousand dollars being accumulated in the Florida Republican's campaign war chest in the event that he decides to run for the White House.
DeSantis running for president?
With the rumor-mill once again suggesting that DeSantis is contemplating a presidential campaign, the news of his book sales couldn't come at a better time. In the immediate aftermath of midterms, a YouGov poll suggested that DeSantis led the former one-term president Donald Trump as the preferred Republican candidate for 2024.
While Trump continues to rant and rage against DeSantis, mocking him and feeding the rumor-mill, DeSantis continues to play his cards close to his chest. If polls are to be believed, Democrats may have something to worry about if DeSantis does indeed run for the White House.
Recent polling from Suffolk University/USA Today shows DeSantis beating Biden, 47% to 43% in a hypothetical head to head, whereas the same poll showed Biden beating Trump, with a convincing 47% to 40%. A majority of voters in the same poll said they wanted neither Biden nor Trump to run again in 2024.
Building his following outside Florida
DeSantis has recently completed a tour of friendly and not-so-friendly states, culminating in an appearance in California where he appeared to taunt Governor Gavin Newsom when he spoke to an assembled audience about his book and his 'Freedom Blueprint'.
If he is to succeed on the wider political stage then DeSantis will certainly need allies in states like California and across the nation.
While his divisive and antagonistic comments towards Newsom aren't likely to win-over Democrats, it seems that he is more focused on growing his standing with other Republicans who are tired of Donald Trump's rhetoric and divisiveness. Time will tell if DeSantis is the alternative they've been looking for.
Are you surprised at how many books Ron DeSantis has sold? Do you think it's a sign of his growing popularity? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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