The decade of the 2010s is littered with accomplished, formidable, and conservative governors who flamed out in their presidential campaigns. Ron DeSantis is currently the best-known presidential prospect among Republican governors. Will his campaign disappoint in the manner of Rick Perry in 2012 and Scott Walker in 2016? Or can he shake off this history?
Perry and Walker were impressive figures. Perry had defeated the Bush family political machine in Texas. Scott Walker had become a national hero for conservatives by taking on Wisconsin’s public-employee unions and surviving a bitter recall campaign. They had solid records as both economic and social conservatives. They seemed well-placed to transfer their political skills from state politics to presidential campaigns.
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