As The Hill's Caroline Vakil reports Thursday, Scott has seen some bumps in polling from states like Iowa and New Hampshire. An operative familiar with his campaign told The Hill they've seen increased donor interest and a shift in his crowd sizes, too.
The "happy" warrior: Republicans credit that to Scott's largely positive campaign message, buoyed by the fact that he's stayed out of the crosshairs of the messy GOP primary. Yet, others say that Scott has stood to gain from DeSantis's campaign, which Republicans say has grappled with a number of missteps since his launch and amid a new round of stay layoffs.
"I do think that could be playing a factor because, frankly, many people, the class of folks who are paying the most attention right now — which are Republican activists and strong Republican voters who are always interested in elections — they expected more from DeSantis, and they aren't getting it," New Hampshire GOP strategist Mike Dennehy told Caroline.
"So I do believe that they are taking a look at others in the field right now," he added. "So there's no doubt in my mind that DeSantis's failure thus far is the benefit of the rest of the field."
DeSantis's campaign for their part says it's still a two-person race between the Florida governor and Trump.
What they're saying: "No matter how much the media and D.C. elites try to destroy Ron DeSantis, they can't change the fact that this is a two-man race for the nomination," DeSantis campaign spokesperson Andrew Romeo told Caroline in a statement.
"Ron DeSantis is ready to prove the doubters wrong yet again and our campaign is prepared to execute on his vision for the Great American Comeback as we transition into the next phase of winning this primary and beating Joe Biden," he added.
But the campaigns are increasingly seeing Scott as a threat – just look to former New Gov. Chris Christie, who suggested the senator is "afraid to tell the truth about Donald Trump." NBC News reported earlier this month that a DeSantis campaign memo suggests their team will be giving the South Carolina Republican some scrutiny as well.
What to look for: One thing we'll be watching for in next month's GOP debate in Milwaukee is how candidates start to make contrasts against each other – and how they go after.
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