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It seems like the Ron DeSantis “reboot” is placing its bets on a somewhat risky scenario: the prospect of President Trump ending up behind bars, rendering him incapable of campaigning. That’s what a recent report from NeverTrumper’s at The Bulwark claims. According to the report, the DeSantis Super PAC “Never Back Down” is taking a strategic approach, gearing up for a potential delegate battle should President Trump face legal challenges that will render him unable to go on.

Ron’s current reboot is still struggling to catch on, and he just fired his campaign manager and replaced her with a loyal confidant who has no “election experience.” So, it’s anyone’s guess if Team DeSantis will have the money to pull off this “long game” strategy.

The Bulwark:

As I was crisscrossing Iowa following the third indictment of Donald Trump, I caught wind of a fresh perspective regarding the right time to winnow the field.

The conventional wisdom has always been that Trump’s opponents need to consolidate around the strongest challenger as quickly as possible to avoid dividing the opposition votes. Mitt Romney argued that the drop-dead date should be February 26, in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed. (My view: Even that might be too late.)

But now at least one of Trump’s opponents is wondering if the frontrunner’s legal troubles could change the calculus and require candidates to stay in for the long haul in order to try and amass delegates in case there is a convention battle because the former president is . . . otherwise indisposed.

“This is about meeting the moment while also thinking long-term,” said a DeSantis super PAC staffer on the condition of anonymity pointing to their massive super PAC war chest.

The long-term game theory takes into consideration what might happen should the January 6th trial move fast enough to prevent Trump from accepting the GOP nomination (I’m lighting a Jack Smith votive candle as we speak). If the legal calendar presents that possibility, might his opponents have to consider earning as many delegates as they can ahead of a convention fight, rather than dropping out of the race once it’s clear they can’t win?

However, NeverTrumpers are worried: rather than heeding Mitt Romney’s advice for all candidates to step aside and rally behind DeSantis (likely), some contenders might choose to remain in the race, banking on a possible victory if Trump faces imprisonment. The concerns raised by The Bulwark’s NeverTrumpers revolve around that potential scenario which could work out in Trump’s favor.

A hypothetical: If the early contests offer a muddied result that doesn’t elevate a single challenger above the herd—but also Trump is staring down the barrel of spring court dates—it would not be illogical to assume that candidates would have incentive to stick around and try to earn delegates in the later states where they are allocated proportionally, just in case things get wild in Milwaukee.

This wishcasting candidacy would surely be met with some resistance and mockery, but that hasn’t stopped ambitious politicians before. And let’s be honest, after getting schlonged by a man under multiple federal indictments in the first few contests, the remaining candidates might figure there’s no point in getting out to preserve dignity that, by that point, would be long gone.

I don’t expect that we live in the beautiful timeline where Trump rots in jail while his sycophants fight on the convention floor. But it would be about par for the course for the sweet dream of this possibility to freeze a fragmented field—and help him coast to a third nomination.

The piece goes on to say that another strategy Team DeSantis will likely employ for reboot number two is painting Ron as a “noble warrior” and attacking the morals of President Trump. This doesn’t seem like a winning strategy to gain MAGA votes, so the DeSantis camp is likely redirecting their message to reach establishment Republican voters, the very people we fought tooth and nail to defeat.

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