Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies are preparing a major counteroffensive against GOP frontrunner Donald Trump in the coming weeks. DeSantis trails the former president by a significant margin for the 2024 Republican nomination, but his advisors brush it off, saying that his message of “conservatism plus result” will allow him to quickly gain in the polls.

“We haven’t really been preparing for Day 1. We’ve been preparing for the months ahead of Day 1 even,” an adviser with Never Back Down, the main super PAC backing DeSantis, told The Hill.

“We’ve been building and employing tactics that have put him in an incredibly strong position and, arguably, a stronger position than Trump.”

For starters, Never Back Down is preparing a $100 million voter outreach effort and already has staffers and organizers in the first 18 primary states. In Iowa alone, DeSantis staffers have already knocked on nearly 30,000 doors, and similar efforts are underway in New Hampshire.

“It’s a one-two punch of wanting to be aggressive, well-organized and well-placed,” the adviser said. “We’re going to force the Trump campaign and his supporters to try to keep up.”

Trump has made it clear that he views DeSantis as his primary rival in the race for the 2024 nomination, incessantly attacking the conservative governor as “disloyal” and attempting to stick to him derogatory nicknames.

So far, Trump’s attacks have worked in his favor, with Trump currently leading DeSantis by an average of 30 percentage points.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)