Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) warned Monday that Elon Musk’s formation of a third party would dampen Republicans’ forecast in midterm elections.
After weeks of feuding with President Trump over the tax and spending megabill’s electric vehicle credit rollbacks and an increase in the national debt, the tech giant announced Saturday he’d launched the “America Party.”
“The problem is, when you do another party, especially if you’re running on some of the issues that he talks about, you know, that would end up — if he funds Senate candidates and House candidates in competitive races, that would likely end up meaning the Democrats would win all the competitive Senate and House races,” DeSantis said during a press conference.
The Florida governor lauded Musk for cutting government spending through his work at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in earlier remarks but suggested creating a third party goes too far.
“We do have a problem in the Republican Party with these D.C. congressmen. They always run saying there’s out-of-control spending, and they’re going to spend less, and they never do it,” DeSantis said.
“I think there is a lot a frustration with the gap between the rhetoric in their district, and the performance once they get into D.C. But the way you do that is expose that in a primary and show that there’s another way forward,” he added.
Trump loyalists including Steve Bannon have slammed Musk for rivaling the GOP.
But Musk has argued it’s time “for a new political party that actually cares about the people.”
However, one longtime leader of a third party said it won’t be easy for Musk to build steam ahead of 2026, when the nascent party is aiming to propel candidates into midterm campaigns.
“Many people have tried to build new political parties. Most have failed,’ Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said in a statement to The Hill.
“If Musk thinks he can wave a wand and a party appears, he’s in for a rude awakening,” he added.
