Miami debate offers DeSantis chance to change trajectory on anniversary of big '22 win

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

66% : And if they don't then, Trump will win.
52% : For others, it's a lesson in the risks of taking on Trump for the support of a Republican Party that remains firmly in his grasp.
50% : While DeSantis waited to launch, Trump also locked up endorsements from a majority of Florida's members of Congress, a fact he emphasized earlier this year while DeSantis was meeting with lawmakers in Washington.
49% : Polling shows him trailing Trump by double-digit margins in Iowa, and one recent survey from the Des Moines Register found him tied with Haley for second place.
47% : "This has always been and remains a two-person race in Iowa between Trump and DeSantis," the memo reads.
47% : "No other candidate has the broad message appeal, political reach, and organizational capability to climb to the levels needed to realistically challenge Trump.
45% : " The memo also argues that DeSantis is the "sole alternative" to Trump and is well-equipped to seize on what they hope will be a strong performance in the Iowa caucus.
44% : "It's great when you're on the drug of Trump, but the moment it gets cut off, your life changes badly and quickly.
43% : Fast-forward a year, though, and DeSantis is about to hit the debate stage in Miami without Trump, who is so far ahead of the field in national polls that he's choosing instead to hold a rally across town -- while sticking to his argument that DeSantis and all his other challengers should drop out and get behind him.
37% : That hasn't stopped DeSantis' team from arguing that the primary remains a two-man race between him and Trump.
34% : Trump Indictments One of the biggest factors influencing the Republican presidential primary has been completely out of DeSantis' control: the criminal indictments levied against the former president.
27% : Public polls from the time suggest that DeSantis' campaign kickoff didn't do much to buoy his prospects against Trump.
20% : "Unfortunately, Donald Trump is leading all of them in just about every state by somewhere between 30 and 50 points," Wilson, the Lincoln Project co-founder, said.
16% : Public polls show that Trump's standing among Republican primary voters shot up -- and DeSantis' down -- following the first of four historic indictments brought against Trump.

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