Republican Firm Suggests DeSantis Should “Take a Sledgehammer” to Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy
Ahead of next week’s Republican debate in Milwaukee, a Republican firm with ties to a super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign has suggested a controversial debate strategy. The firm, Axiom Strategies, founded and led by GOP strategist Jeff Roe, released an expansive set of polling and opposition research, along with an overarching memo on debate strategy, which was later removed from their website after inquiries from The New York Times. The memo recommended that DeSantis should “take a sledgehammer” to biotech entrepreneur and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and defend former President Donald Trump “in absentia” if attacked by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on the debate stage.
The memo, dated August 15 and directed to “Interested Parties” from the pro-DeSantis “Never Back Down” PAC, outlined four “basic must-dos” for DeSantis during the debate. These included attacking Joe Biden and the media, stating DeSantis’ positive vision, responding to Ramaswamy’s criticisms, and defending Trump in the event of a Christie attack. The memo also referenced the late Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes’ “Orchestra Pit Theory,” which posited that candidates who engage in controversial actions or statements on the debate stage receive more media coverage. The memo listed potential “orchestra-pit moments” for DeSantis, including taking a sledgehammer to Ramaswamy and defending Trump in his absence.
The memo also included separate documents on internal polling in New Hampshire and Iowa, as well as research on how other candidates would attack DeSantis. Notably, research on Trump, who has not yet confirmed his attendance at the debate, was missing from the documents. The DeSantis campaign spokesperson, Andrew Romeo, stated that the memo was not a campaign document and that they were not aware of it prior to The New York Times article. The campaign has not yet commented on the strategy outlined in the memo.
In addition to the debate strategy memo, the Axiom Strategies website also posted an early August poll conducted in New Hampshire. The poll showed Trump leading with 34% of respondents leaning towards or definitely voting for him, followed by DeSantis with 16%. Ramaswamy ranked third with 11%, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina fourth with 6%. The poll also tested messaging in two ads that suggested nominating Trump could result in Republican losses in 2024. The polling found that these ads had little impact on voters’ likelihood to vote against Trump. In head-to-head matchups, DeSantis trailed Trump by 10 points in New Hampshire and by 8 points in Iowa, with persuadable voters splitting equally between the two candidates.
As the debate approaches, the DeSantis campaign has been preparing for attacks from other candidates. Debate coach Brett O’Donnell has been leading the campaign’s debate prep sessions, and donors have been receiving debate preview calls led by campaign pollster Ryan Tyson. The campaign expects a heightened level of attacks during the debate but remains confident in DeSantis’ ability to handle them.
It is important to note that super PACs and presidential campaigns are legally barred from coordinating on strategy. However, PACs have previously posted memos and polling online for campaigns to access. Republican Senator J.D. Vance’s 2022 campaign is cited as an example of this practice.
Original Story at www.cbsnews.com – 2023-08-17 21:35:00
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