“I think that Youngkin or DeSantis is a better fit for soft Republicans or independents in the suburbs that we need to turn out,” Ralph Reed, president of the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition, told CNN.
A person close to the Walker campaign also told CNN that DeSantis campaigning for Walker would be “a huge draw if we could get him,” pointing out that the Florida governor didn’t stump for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who was opposed by Trump, despite the state being less than 20 miles from the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee. …
Trump allies told CNN that it would be much harder to persuade Trump to stay out of the state if DeSantis were to campaign for Walker.
“Imagine [Trump] seeing Ron campaign for Herschel while he is being told, ‘Please stay away.’ He would go ballistic,” the Trump ally told the outlet.
[Walker could benefit from having both or all three, if you include Kemp, who’s made it clear that he wants to help. But Trump would have to stop talking about himself — and definitely stop talking about the 2020 election, and DeSantis, and Kemp. It seems pretty clear that Reed and other conservative organizers don’t trust Trump to discipline himself, and for obvious reasons. — Ed]
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