'Dead man walking' DeSantis could end his political career with a GOP debate flop: conservative

With Donald Trump likely to not be in attendance at next week's Republican Party presidential debate, political observers will be focusing on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) who has the most to lose among the debate participants.

That is the opinion of conservative columnist Matt Lewis in a piece for the Daily Beast where he claims the faltering Florida lawmaker who desperately needs to get out from under the cloud of being regarded as a "dead man walking."

According to Lewis, should DeSantis flop before conservatives watching the debate on Fox News, he will be under great pressure to bow out quickly before doing any more damage to his national reputation.

As has been reported, the embattled governor's first foray outside of Florida has been dogged by financial woes, staff layoffs, a reset and now a debate talking point strategy that has been widely ridiculed. That has not helped.

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As Lewis wrote, DeSantis may have to pull out before the Iowa caucus if he doesn't turn his fortunes around this week.

"This pressure would presumably come from non-Trump Republicans who are desperate to unite the field behind some non-Trump candidate. And it may even come from DeSantis’ closest friends and family," he wrote before adding, "That’s because DeSantis risks not just failing in 2024, but also irreparably damaging his national brand—perhaps forestalling future chances to run for president."

Adding that "time is running out" for the Florida lawmaker, he continued, "A poor or mediocre debate performance would reinforce the sense that DeSantis’ campaign was snakebitten from day one and that he is merely a dead man walking."

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Lewis, who is not a supporter of the four-times-indicted Donald Trump continued, "I think this moment is crucial for DeSantis. The best analogy I can think of is a baseball team that starts off 0-2 in a seven-game World Series. A win keeps him in the game, while anything else means he is all but finished. Except, instead of facing just one opponent, DeSantis will have to fend off a field of Republican candidates."

"It’s do or die time for DeSantis. It’s time to swing for the fences," he warned.

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