Tuesday's election results came as a surprise to some conservatives, who reacted on Twitter with bitter disappointment and even anger, as a possible red wave hit like a toddler's bathtub splash.
Candidates endorsed by former President Trump had mixed results in key races throughout the country, except in the state of Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis won a crushing 19-point landslide victory against Democrat and ex-governor Charlie Crist.
Florida Republicans dominated at every level of the ballot, with Sen. Marco Rubio winning re-election, and the GOP making historic gains with Latino voters in traditionally Democratic strongholds like Miami-Dade County. Conservatives noticed, and by Wednesday morning, many were anointing DeSantis as the "new head of the party."
"We need a Republican overhaul," wrote Caleb Hull, a Republican strategist. "Trump pushed a bunch of candidates that SUCK and everyone knew it but we have no choice but to go along. We had everything on our side and missed the mark. DeSantis is the new head of the party, not a 76 year old man."
DeSantis' massive win stood out as Trump-backed candidates either lost or remain locked in races that are too close to call throughout the country.
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Pennsylvania Republicans Mehmet Oz and Doug Mastriano lost their races for Senate and governor, respectively, while Don Bolduc failed to unseat Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire. Voters are still waiting for results in Arizona, where Trump-backed Kari Lake currently trails her Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs, and Sen. Mark Kelly (D) leads Blake Masters (R), though only 66% is reporting.
Many conservative commentators looked at the contrast between the GOP's decisive win in Florida and the close elections elsewhere and determined DeSantis was the linchpin upon which the Republican Party should hang its future ambitions.
"The two extremely successful campaigns on the right have been [Glenn] Youngkin and DeSantis. Both have run on ‘culture war is the big tent’ platforms. There’s a lesson here," said Inez Stepman, a writer for The Federalist. Youngkin was elected governor of Virginia last year in a state that President Biden had carried by 10 points in the 2020 election.
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"Florida is now the base of the Republican Party. Absolute destruction of Democrats by [DeSantis] and [Marco Rubio]," wrote Outkick's Clay Travis. "Truly an unprecedented level of dominance. Incredible. Being right on covid has its rewards. Well done, guys. Love it."
"DeSantis strongly outperforming his Republican counterparts. Winning Latinos, winning blue counties. Builds the case for a presidential run," observed school choice advocate Christopher Rufo.
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Inevitably, the 2024 presidential election campaign was top of mind for many conservatives as former President Trump has been relentlessly hinting that he will launch his comeback campaign for the White House as soon as next week. Trump has for weeks been previewing the kind of attacks he would deploy against DeSantis if the Florida governor attempts a primary challenge, calling him names like "Ron DeSanctimonious" at a rally in Pennsylvania last week. On the eve of the election, Trump made a vague threat to reveal information about DeSantis that could damage him if he runs.
"If he did run, I will tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering. I know more about him than anybody other than perhaps his wife, who is really running his campaign," Trump told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Tuesday.
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However, some conservatives suggested the attacks would not land after Tuesday's election results.
"Donald Trump has spent the last 48 hours loosing an unprovoked and one-sided barrage of attacks on DeSantis. If DeSantis's only response is a 15-20 point statewide victory in Florida, I don't think he needs any other," said Commentary Magazine's Noah Rothman.
"DeSantis blew the competition away while much of the rest of the Republican Party underperformed. What exactly is the argument against DeSantis 2024?" asked Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire.
Newsbusters associate editor Nicholas Fondacaro summed up what a significant number of Republican strategists and activists are thinking with the next election in mind.
"The moral of the story from last night: ditch Trump like a bad toupee and elevate DeSantis."
