A recent poll shows that the GOP electorate is far more concerned about crime, immigration, and inflation than wokeness. That’s terrible news for DeSantis, who has made fighting wokeness his brand. Without it, he’s just another guy–Tim Scott with a chronically grumpy personality. Why is wokeness failing for him?
Part of it, of course, is DeSantis’ obvious shortcomings as a salesman, but the problem runs deeper than that. The real issue with wokeness, as I’ve said before, is that the average GOP voter only encounters it on a daily basis on Fox News. In real life, he never sees it: his friends aren’t woke; he doesn’t spend any time reading left-leaning opinions in periodicals or on social media; he’s never met any sneering Harvard graduates; and he doesn’t even know any trans people. Why would he cast his vote for president to get rid of it?