Is the super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis throwing in the towel? Not exactly but a spokesman is saying what anyone can see – the campaign is not doing well. Poll after poll shows the governor in second place behind Trump.

The former president has a commanding lead over DeSantis. It is important to remember that it is still early in the primary process and that the first debate is not scheduled until next month. According to the aggregated averages at Real Clear Politics, Trump is ahead 52.4% to DeSantis 21.5%. Since DeSantis hit the campaign trail full steam ahead, he has failed to make progress knocking down Trump’s lead.

Part of the problem for DeSantis is that Trump has an extremely loyal base. It is not enough to win the general election against Biden but it may be enough to win the primary race, especially with so many candidates vying for the nomination. If Trump is running, his base is voting for him. Just look at the crowd that turned out for his appearance in Pickens, South Carolina on Saturday. The crowd was estimated to be about 50,000. The town’s population is about 3,400. It was people for as far as you could see, from what I could tell. No other candidate gets those kind of crowds, Republican or Democrat.

Another factor is the situation with the indictments. It has proven to help Trump, not harm him, as could be predicted. He turned himself into a victim. Again. First it was the rigged election. Now it is the politicization of the DOJ. The truth is, Trump was victimized by leftists from the time he announced his run for president in 2015. They were ready to impeach him before he was inaugurated. Then, the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax was exposed and debunked. It was all the invention of Hillary Clinton and her campaign. Manhattan District Attorney Bragg overdid it and charged Trump. Then the felony indictment in Miami. And, on it goes. Trump voters rallied behind him. Independent voters see the double-tier justice system. Many people think some of his troubles were completely self-inflicted while at the same time seeing the double standard. Both can be true at the same time.

Trump takes all of the oxygen out of the room. DeSantis has a different personality. He has a great record to run on and is not shy to point out how he is working against the woke left in Florida. He wants to make his success a national success. Voters in primary states are just getting to know him. There is still time. It will be crucial, though, for DeSantis to win some of the first primary contests – Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada. They will determine how DeSantis moves forward. He has a huge war chest. Money will not be a problem. He can hang in there for a while if he doesn’t win the first races.

Steve Cortes, a former Trump supporter, now national spokesman for Never Back Down super PAC. He was on a Twitter spaces discussion and let loose with what he thought about the current situation of the campaign.

“Right now in national polling we are way behind, I’ll be the first to admit that,” Cortes said in a Twitter spaces event that was recorded on Sunday night. “I believe in being blunt and honest. It’s an uphill battle but clearly Donald Trump is the runaway frontrunner.”

Calling the DeSantis campaign the “clear underdog,” he added: “In the first four states which matter tremendously, polls are a lot tighter, we are still clearly down. We’re down double digits, we have work to do.”

Not exactly inspiring. You’ll note that he does some doom and gloom narrative then he flips to a little pep talk. He’s trying to have it both ways.

The remarks amounted to a remarkably blunt admission of vulnerability from within the ranks of a leading presidential operation, contrasting with the projection of confidence that other DeSantis aides often adopt. Cortes did say he thought the gap between Trump and DeSantis could be closed once DeSantis’ personal and political story is shared more widely on the campaign trail. But he also rationalized a DeSantis primary campaign failure by predicting healthy competition could benefit Trump in a general election.

“If we do not prevail — and I have every intent on winning, I didn’t sign up for this to come in second — but if we do not prevail I will tell you this, we will make President Trump better for having this kind of primary,” Cortes said.

Cortes said that Trump is good on a debate stage but don’t discount DeSantis. People tend to expect him to under perform, though he does not. “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.“

A campaign spokesman responded.

In a statement, DeSantis campaign spokesperson Bryan Griffin said, “Ron DeSantis has been underestimated in every race he has won, and this time will be no different. Donald Trump has to explain to Republican voters why he didn’t do the things he is now promising in his first term as president. Governor Ron DeSantis over-delivered on his promises as governor and has the national vision we need to restore our country, clean out DC, and lead our Great American Comeback. This campaign is a marathon, not a sprint; we will be victorious.”

How can DeSantis change things up? One suggestion is to take him off the campaign trail. Let Casey do some surrogate campaigning.

According to St. Anselm College Survey Center poll, Trump is leading DeSantis by the same large margin. Trump led 47% to DeSantis’ 19%.

Tara Newsom is a political analyst. She said DeSantis is not connecting with voters.

“It looks like voters are starting to really get to know him and the more they get to know him, his narrative is a lot different than the man,” Newsom said.

“Gov. DeSantis cannot get within striking reach of Donald Trump and every time he makes a campaign stop, voters seem to step back.”

I looked at her resume online and she looks like most left-leaning political analysts. I’d take her advice with a grain of salt. The last thing DeSantis needs to do is take himself off the campaign trail. Voters need to see him and get to hear him speak. He’s introducing himself. And, the bit about not connecting with voters is a leftist exaggeration. Leftists don’t want voters to like him. He has a real shot at beating Biden in the general election.

It is taking longer than some of us would like for DeSantis to rise in polls. Granted polls are not reliable but they often can indicate how a race is going. And, the polls have been consistent with Trump way ahead and DeSantis in a solid second place. Keep an eye on Vivek Ramaswamy. He’s moved into third place in some polls. He’s young and very articulate. He would be a solid pick for vice president.