The Tribune

With CHARLIE HARPER

IT would be more fun and more interesting if the Iowa Republican caucuses and the New Hampshire GOP primary “race” had produced more suspense. The press would love that, because a real contest would get more people interested in their stories.

But honestly, not too much has happened or changed after two states made known their Republican presidential preferences. Except for the departure of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, that is. The Sunshine State chief executive, whose closely-aligned Never Back Down political action committee reportedly splashed nearly $150m on his presidential primary campaign, proved to be a decidedly uninspiring national political figure and faded rather quickly once actual voting began.

Of all the insults Donald Trump has hurled at political opponents over the past decade, one of the most telling was his consistent charge that he had “made Ron DeSantis” as a prominent political figure. To most observers, this was simply true.

DeSantis, well-educated and with military service in his background, was still a fairly obscure Central Florida congressman until Trump bestowed upon him his endorsement for governor prior to the 2018 race. Even with that advantage and Florida’s strongly red-trending electorate, DeSantis was lucky to defeat former Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum by less than one-half of one percent of the vote.

As mayor, Gillum was dogged by allegations of malfeasance and even indicted for some of his actions, but he was found innocent of one charge and others were later dismissed. He proved to be a formidable foe for DeSantis, and the narrowness of the Republican’s 2018 win might have foretold future electoral problems.

Then DeSantis got lucky. Democrats nominated Charlie Crist to oppose DeSantis’ re-election bid two years ago. Crist had actually already been Florida’s governor – elected as a Republican in 2007! He then ran for the GOP nomination for the US Senate in 2010 while serving as governor but was defeated in the primary by Marco Rubio, who won the general election and is still in the Senate.

But Crist wasn’t done maneuvering. He left the Republican Party later in 2010 to run in the general election as an independent, losing again to Rubio in a three-way race. Crist’s term as governor, meantime, ended in January 2011.

In December 2012, Crist then joined the Democratic Party, having endorsed President Barack Obama for re-election earlier that year. Then less than a year after that, in November 2013, he announced that he was running for governor in the 2014 election. Crist lost to Republican governor Rick Scott, his successor, by a one percent margin. Scott now serves as Florida’s other senator in Washington.

Undaunted, in 2016, Crist was impressively elected to Congress as a Democrat from his home district in St Petersburg. He defeated incumbent Republican David Jolly and became the first Democrat to represent this district since 1955.

To sum up, Charlie Crist was elected governor and used that to run for the US Senate. Then, after a few defeats, he was elected to Congress and used that to run for governor again. All while changing political party affiliations. Whew.

That’s a lot of maneuvering. Floridians apparently became either confused by it all or simply weary of Charlie Crist. Or both. DeSantis found Charlie Crist an easy foe and crushed him two years ago.

That 2022 triumph was supposed to catapult DeSantis to national prominence as the relatively palatable alternative to Trump’s persistent bombast.

It didn’t happen.

DeSantis’ withdrawal left only former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley standing in opposition to the Trump MAGA GOP juggernaut. Haley has managed to appeal to more voters than any of her primary opponents except Trump, and has gained some traction among those Republicans who are either turned off by Trump and his many issues or feel they will be left out of a second Trump administration should he prevail in November.

Like former Wyoming congresswoman and top GOP House leader Liz Cheney, Haley is a thorough conservative representing most traditional Republican views on issues ranging from social welfare to foreign affairs and a strong military. Neither woman is a moderate.

Among never-Trumpers each has nonetheless enjoyed more than a moment of notoriety and support. But it’s been just a moment in the greater arc of this year’s momentous presidential election campaign.

Like many before her, Haley has suffered from Trump’s sharp wit and rarely-erring penchant for identifying and stressing vulnerabilities in his opponents. Recently, for example, he has begun referring to her by her given first name of Nimarata and suggested incorrectly, as he did with Barack Obama, that as the child of immigrants she is ineligible to run for president.

It is almost unimaginable that Trump would offer a vice presidential nod to someone who has consistently questioned his fitness for office. If Haley has the integrity she claims, she wouldn’t accept any offer from Trump anyhow.

Trump’s 11-point victory Tuesday in New Hampshire is meaningful because that may have been Haley’s best chance to upset him.

Meanwhile, the Democratic primary in New Hampshire was a muddle. This state’s primary races have traditionally kicked off American presidential campaigns. However, the Democrats decided last year that they would move the New Hampshire party primary to February and give their “first in the nation” honour to South Carolina this year.

This week in New Hampshire 21 Democrats have filed for president and appeared on Tuesday’s ballot. Biden, the certain nominee, declined to be listed among them.

There were numerous explanations given for this change, but it is likely that South Carolina was so honoured because it was in that state’s primary election four years ago that third-ranking Democratic House leader Jim Clyburn threw his strong support behind Biden’s slumping campaign. Biden won a shock victory in South Carolina and the rest is history.

NFL Conference Finals are set - winners head to the Super Bowl

The NFL’s conference championship games are all set for this Sunday. The two top conference seeds who each enjoyed a week off on the first playoff weekend are the hosts. Both the Baltimore Ravens (3.5 points) and the San Francisco 49ers (7 points) are strong betting favourites to advance as expected to the Super Bowl.

But the host Ravens must first get past the Kansas City Chiefs, who are appearing in their sixth successive conference championship game and are the defending NFL champions. The Chiefs whipped Miami and squeaked past the disappointing Buffalo Bills to reach this point. Baltimore had an easy game against an overachieving Houston Texans team led by a rookie quarterback.

The Ravens’ talisman is quarterback Lamar Jackson, who will likely win his second league most valuable player trophy this season. In fact, in a stunning change from recent history, the Ravens occupy their lofty perch more because of their offense than their defense.

The Ravens’ defence has been inconsistent, particularly in the secondary. That might open a door for Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, also a former league MVP. But the Chiefs, like the Ravens, have broken with recent form and reached this game not due to their offence but a surprisingly resilient defence. The Chiefs are accustomed to playing at home in the postseason. This game, however, will be in Baltimore and the Ravens should prevail.

The host 49ers are favoured in a game that seems much less suspenseful. Except for a surprising mid-season slump, San Francisco has been tough and resilient all year and merits its big betting edge. The Detroit Lions will line up Sunday against the 49ers, but the visitors’ Cinderella season should end with this game.