Good morning from Tampa and happy Friday.
Gov. Ron DeSantis was back on his home turf yesterday raising money, racking up endorsements and fielding questions from skeptics. DeSantis has struggled to live up to the lofty expectations he faced at the start of the year. DeSantis reorganized his staff several times, laid people off and faced repeated attacks from former President Donald Trump, who continues to poll ahead by double-digits — apparently, even in Florida. With just over three months to go until the Iowa caucus, DeSantis is further refining his pitch for why he should become the nominee instead of Trump. During a campaign stop in Tampa yesterday afternoon, he engaged directly with those who questioned his electability. He portrayed himself as a candidate who does what he promises. He pointed to this record as evidence that he can deliver on “America First” policies while Trump failed to do so. “Every promise I made as governor I've delivered on 100%,” he said. “I'll do the same as president — and not only that, I'm going to deliver on other people’s promises.” He tried to recast Trump as the real loser, someone who “couldn’t even stop Joe Biden” and “energized Democrats” to vote against him. DeSantis, 45, also suggested Trump, 77, was too old for the job and said the former president did worse than he did in Florida during the 2020 presidential election as compared to the 2022 gubernatorial race. “He won by three, I won by 20,” DeSantis said, referring to their margins of victory in the Sunshine state. DeSantis also reminded voters he could serve eight years. If Trump were to be elected, he said, then he’d be a “lame-duck president” because he already served one term. He also addressed questions about fundraising. DeSantis only brought in $5 million during the third quarter that can go toward the general election — a far smaller total than what Trump was able to raise. (The numbers can’t be independently confirmed until filings are made public on Oct. 15.) “Why is he raising that money? And where’s that money going to?” DeSantis asked rhetorically about Trump’s haul. “Isn’t it going to a lot of lawyers?” He insisted his all-in-on-Iowa strategy was correct, and dismissed polling showing him behind. The campaign has said that focusing on the caucus-first state is the best way to narrow the presidential field.“You win it contest by contest. It’s not a national primary,” DeSantis said. It’s of course too soon to say whether the arguments can help DeSantis close the considerable gap between himself and Trump, or even between himself and other rivals who are doing well in some of the early-state contests, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. DeSantis isn’t just behind in national polls, but state ones too — and plenty of presidential candidates who’ve won Iowa have lost the presidency. He also didn’t address some of the biggest criticisms about his policy record, one many donors are concerned is too ,conservative for a general election. But his stop shows the governor is taking in a lot of the criticisms and considering his rebuttals. What he’s saying publicly is probably close to the pitch he and his supporters have been making to donors behind closed doors, too. — WHERE'S RON? DeSantis will appear on CNBC’s Squawk Box at 8 a.m. EST. He’ll be in Iowa through Monday appearing at events with Never Back Down. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com PROGRAMMING NOTE: Playbook will be off this Monday for Indigenous Peoples Day but will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday, Oct. 10. | 
