• Gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist released a final ad on the morning of election day, depicting a rift between former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis 
• The ad shows Trump referring to DeSantis as “Ron DeSanctimonious” 
• Further stoking the rift between Trump and DeSantis, the ad highlights a Miami Trump rally that DeSantis was not invited to 
• The final frame shows the message of the video: “President Trump doesn’t have Ron DeSantis’ back. Why should you?”

Democrat gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist launched a final election day advertisement campaign on Tuesday featuring former President Donald Trump lambasting Gov. Ron DeSantis, referring to him as “Ron DeSanctimonious.”

The ad, coming in at thirty seconds in length, depicts Trump at his Pennsylvania rally last Saturday. The former president is seen highlighting poll numbers for a hypothetical GOP primary in 2024, in which Trump states he received 71 percent of the vote, followed by DeSantis at 10 percent. Upon reading the results, Trump dubbed the Florida governor “Ron DeSanctimonious.”

“Ron DeSanctimonious at 10 percent,” the campaign ad shows Trump saying.

Ron DeSanctimonious. pic.twitter.com/s277ZpGCoW

— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) November 8, 2022

The ad further stokes the flames of the rumored rift between the two Republican heavyweights, emphasizing Trump’s political rally in Miami this past weekend, of which DeSantis was not invited to.

“Former President Trump will be holding a rally of his own in Miami,” a news report appearing in the ad states. “Governor DeSantis, who has benefited from Trump’s endorsements in the past, has not been invited.”

Amidst the backdrop of the 2024 presidential election, Trump and DeSantis have reportedly experienced proliferating tension as the pair are seen as the top contenders to secure the GOP’s nominee.

In preliminary polling, Trump consistently tops DeSantis among Republican voters, albeit by close margins. Lacking another true rival in the early stages of the campaign cycle, DeSantis poses the biggest threat to Trump.

In highlighting the supposed rift, Crist’s ad ultimately builds up to the question “President Trump doesn’t have Ron DeSantis’ back. Why should you?”

In one of the final polls released before election day, independent Research Co. reports that the incumbent DeSantis has a fourteen-point lead over Crist, his largest since the start of his re-election campaign.

In the pollster’s most recent publication, they deemed DeSantis as “heavily favored to win a new term in office.”

“Florida is an important bellwether state,” said Dr. Hans Hassel, Institute of Politics at FSU Director. “The results from the IOP poll show favorable winds for Republican candidates.”

All but one gubernatorial poll conducted in October declares DeSantis the election leader by double-digits, painting a picture of the one-sidedness of the race.

Much of DeSantis’ momentum is carried by his favorability rating among Hispanic voters. 48 percent of voters within the demographic responded to a recent YouGov poll in support of him, compared to 46 percent claiming dissatisfaction.

DeSantis also out-fundraised Crist by an unprecedented margin, hauling over $200 million dollars between donations and his political committee. The figure represents the highest raised total of any incumbent governor seeking re-election ever.

With his mountain of cash, DeSantis has been able to out-spend Crist in advertising at a rate of four-to-one, leading to an avalanche of television coverage for DeSantis compared to Crist’s light flurry.