Finding his status as the Republican party’s leading alternative to former president Donald Trump increasingly challenged both nationally and in New Hampshire, Ron DeSantis came to Newport on Saturday night for a town hall that saw the Florida governor largely show restraint against his Republican primary opponents and instead relentlessly blast President Joe Biden.

Approximately 250 people attended the event at the former Ruger Mill on Sunapee Street, crammed into a section cordoned off with curtains. It created the feeling of a packed room even though roughly 80 percent of the building’s cavernous second-floor space went unused.

Early on, the crowd was subdued, seemingly uninspired by DeSantis kicking off his speech with an anecdote about the last time he was in “a Newport” — in Rhode Island.

However, the crowd and the candidate both seemed to build energy and enthusiasm as DeSantis hit his stride in a stump speech that was less arching narrative and more a laundry list of animated attacks against the man who currently sits in the White House, Democrats and Washington as a whole.

DeSantis accused his targets of demanding abortion “up to birth,” not giving “a damn” about the fentanyl crisis and “indoctrinating our kids,” all symptoms, DeSantis claims, of a country headed in the wrong direction.

“We’re on a mission to recognize that our country is in a state of decline, and we need to send Joe basement back to his basement in Delaware so we can reverse the decline in our country,” DeSantis said, referring to Republican criticism of President Biden’s 2020 campaign that saw him eschew many public events because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. “I always believed that in America if you really work hard and get the most out of your god-given ability, you will succeed in this country. [It’s] not always easy, but you have a pathway and I see that American dream slipping away for so many millions of families throughout this country. We have a duty to restore that American dream again.”

DeSantis earned among the most boisterous responses from the crowd when he promised to “stop the madness at the southern border.”

“Day one we’ll declare the border to be a national emergency, we’re going use all of our resources including our U.S. military to stop the invasion at the border, to build the border wall and most importantly, to hold the Mexican drug cartels accountable for what they are doing to this country,” DeSantis said. “When we are in charge, we’re going to treat the drug cartels like the foreign terrorist organizations that they are.

“We are going to authorize the use of deadly force if they are bringing fentanyl into our country … we’re going to shoot them stone cold dead.”

DeSantis falling in both NH and national polls

DeSantis’ appearance in Newport came as two recent polls released by Emerson College showed national and New Hampshire Republicans continuing to put him well behind Trump. The polls also add to the growing evidence that Republican voters looking for an alternative to Trump are increasingly considering other candidates.

In Emerson’s national poll, DeSantis has fallen into a second-place tie with biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy with 10 percent, while the college’s New Hampshire poll has DeSantis polling third at eight percent, a percentage point behind former New Jersey governor Chris Christie. Trump led both national and New Hampshire polls with 56 and 49 percent, respectively.

Despite DeSantis’ persistent deficit to Trump in the polls and the New York Times reporting that a memo developed in concert with the super PAC supporting DeSantis’ campaign called for him to “take a sledgehammer” to Ramaswamy in Wednesday’s Republican primary debate, DeSantis largely steered clear of criticizing his Republican primary opponents.

In one of the few moments from his speech that could be interpreted as opaquely critical of Trump, DeSantis tried to position himself as more electable, and someone who would be, once elected, better suited to accomplish his goals once in office.

“I don’t go out and just flail around and say things that I know will never come to fruition,” DeSantis said. “If I tell you I’m going to do something it means I’ve thought about it, and it means I will follow through with it.”

DeSantis added that if voters elect him, they’re going to have “somebody that’s laser focused on your issues, laser focused on our country’s future. We are not going to get distracted. We’re not going to get sidetracked. We’re going to get the job done.”

‘That’s what New Hampshire is all about’

For attendees, the town hall was an opportunity to, as former New Hampshire state representative Vicki Schwaegler of Orford put it, “kick the tires” on DeSantis’ campaign.

Interviewed while leaving the event, she described herself as still an undecided voter but liked what she heard Saturday night.

“I thought it was a very exciting speech,” Schwaegler said. “He’s got a lot of clear ideas. My husband and I want to hear from everybody and that’s what the primary is about. That’s what New Hampshire is all about.”

Dave and Marsh Knapp, registered Republicans from Lebanon, arrived at the event as undecided voters with open minds.

“We are just here to hear what the candidates have to say in person,” Dave, 66, said, as he waited to enter the town hall.

“We think it’s a really good year to try to listen to people and hear what they have to say,” Marsha, 67, commented. “I think you learn more seeing and listening (in person).”

Cindy Harkey, 64 of Charlestown, was already sold on DeSantis’ candidacy as she entered the event.

“He knows how to govern a state and he can do that for the country,” Harkey said, before offering a bit of advice to DeSantis and his fellow Republican primary candidates. “As long as they stick to the basics, inflation, the economy, the border, don’t bash other candidates. The past is not what they voters want to hear.”

A registered Republican who voted for Trump in 2020, Harkey said she has switched her allegiance to DeSantis because Trump “just can’t let go of the past and that’s what hurting him.”

“You’ve got to stick to the problems that every day Americans are facing,” she added, citing the rising costs of groceries as one of her primary concerns.

Robert Blake, a 65-year-old Republican from Warner, is another former Trump voter whose allegiance is up for grabs this year. He voted for Trump in 2016, but not in 2020. After DeSantis’ speech, he was impressed.

“He is put together and presents a nice image — articulate, thoughtful. He didn’t say anything offensive that offended anyone,” said Blake, acknowledging that he was contrasting that with Trump’s bombastic style. “He represents America’s traditional values in the center, and I think that’s what we need, for somebody to bring us back closer to the center.”

Interviewed again after the event, undecided voter Dave Knapp had a positive reaction to DeSantis’ speech.

“I was personally pleased with some of his initiatives addressing what’s taking place in Washington and he does have his own examples as governor of Florida,” Knapp said, citing the state’s balanced budget and DeSantis’ wrangling with Disney as specific examples.

But, he says, he’s still not ready to commit to a primary candidate.

“My mind isn’t made up. There is still a long way to go.”

Justin Campfield can be reached at jhcampfield@gmail.com.