This new poll should be a wake-up call for Ron DeSantis

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     August 7, 2023 How do you pivot when you've only got one thing? That's the question I have for Ron DeSantis, who, amid sinking poll numbers and a major staff reduction, must have learned that Republican voters [don't care as much for a crusade against the "woke"]( as he clearly hopes. I imagine the Florida governor, if he's capable of even the smallest self-reflection, is confronting something of an existential crisis these days. Because outside of launching culture war fights, it's hard to identify what makes the DeSantis campaign sing. A raison d'être beyond being a bully who reportedly [eats pudding with his fingers](. I'm not even sure how to begin defining his reboot. From his agreement to [debate Gavin Newsom]( to the attempt to distance himself from Florida's new educational provision that suggests slavery benefited Black people ([only to defend it in the same interview](). Only now does he suddenly claim "[of course" Donald Trump]( lost the 2020 election. It seems DeSantis is going to have to try a lot harder to convince voters he's anything more than a [socially inept jerk]( who wants to screw with our democracy. —Inae Oh Advertisement [House Bookshop Ad]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [This Poll Should Be a Wake-Up Call for the DeSantis Campaign]( It appears that Republican voters don't really care about battling "wokeness." BY ISABELA DIAS FROM THE MOTHER JONES STORE   Mother Jones Store Are you a Mother Funder? If you are, buy the shirt as well! Go to the official Mother Jones Store and show your support beyond the pages. [Check us out!]( [Trending] [The GOP’s stealth plan to end direct democracy in Ohio]( BY ARI BERMAN   [Ron DeSantis defends Florida's new guidelines suggesting slavery benefited Black people]( BY ARIANNA COGHILL   [Trump is posting through his January 6 indictment—and prosecutors are using it against him]( BY SAMANTHA MICHAELS   [Is the collapse of a critical Atlantic current really imminent?]( BY MATT SIMON Advertisement [House Donations Ad]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [America's most powerful theocrats have a road map for total control]( Donald Trump's involved. Democracy isn't. BY EMILY HOFSTAEDTER [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755