Super PAC spokesman backing DeSantis acknowledged that Trump is the "runaway leader" in the primaries

Donald Trump continues to lead in the polls in the Republican presidential primaries. The former president saw his donations and his position in the polls increase every time he was subpoenaed by the courts, which consolidated a lead that distances him by more than 30 percentage points from Ron DeSantis at the national level, something that was acknowledged by the latter’s entourage.

According to Real Clear Politics, the former president is garnering 52.4% of the Republican vote nationally, far ahead of the Florida governor’s 21.5% and even farther afield of Mike Pence’s 5.7%.

In this context, Steve Cortes, chief spokesman for the Never Back Down Super PAC, which clearly supports DeSantis, participated in a Twitter Space. There, he analyzed the current situation and the future of the Republican primaries, which currently have thirteen candidates.

“Look right now in national polling, we are way behind. I’ll be the first to admit that. I believe in being really blunt and really honest. It’s an uphill battle, I don’t think is an unwinnable battle, but clearly, Donald Trump is the runaway front-runner, particularly since the indictments,” he said Sunday night.

Cortes is intimately familiar with the former president’s entourage, having served as a senior advisor to his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020. However, in May of this year, he announced that he would endorse DeSantis for the Republican nomination, subsequently joining DeSantis’ team as an advisor and spokesman.

“That was not the case before the indictments. It is the case afterwards. And it is understandable that a lot of folks want to rally to [Trump] when he’s been unfairly prosecuted, really, but persecuted,” he added in the Twitter Space. He described the race as a clear head-to-head between the former president and the Florida governor.

“DeSantis will exceed expectations”

Hours later, the consultant sent an email to The Hill, in which he was very optimistic about his candidate’s chances of turning the tide.

“The former president has debated through two successive presidential cycles, so of course he possesses a lot of experience in that arena. But I am convinced that Governor DeSantis will outperform expectations and inform large audiences about his amazing life, political record, and winning agenda for the presidency,” he wrote.

In addition, he emphasized a point that all Republican candidates opposed to Trump have in common: that the former president is not a winning card in the general election. “All of us on Team DeSantis remain convinced that the governor has a strong path to the nomination and the best chance of any Republican to defeat Biden in the general election,” he finished.