Prominent investor Kevin O’Leary advised 2024 Republican presidential primary candidates to focus on middle and rural America and economic issues.
O’Leary said Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ release of his new economic policy in New Hampshire is a good strategy.
“You can’t go wrong with the economy, there’s no question about it, because while we’re seeing the stock market rise rapidly to new highs, 60 percent of the economy is basically Main Street America where they’re having the highest rate hikes in history in terms of the speed in which they rose,” O’Leary told “Fox & Friends.”
O’Leary added that candidates’ economic plans need to appeal to the middle class, which he termed “small guy America,” to the rural areas of the U.S. and to independent voters, who he said will ultimately decide the election. (RELATED: ‘Shark Tank’ Star Kevin O’Leary Blasts Rep. Ocasio-Cortez For ‘Killing Jobs’)
“People want to know who’s ever leading this have a plan to win a general election, and that means independent voters. You’re thinking strategically as a Republican, ‘Who can get me the independents that actually decide the presidency?’ And that’s Main Street America … You’ve got to have a plan for mister and missus at the kitchen table, because they’re the ones that’s gonna decide whether you’re president or not,” O’Leary aid.
“And I see a lot of issue with high interest rates that are gonna be right at the center of this discussion and that is where rural America is and that’s where 60 percent of jobs are created and nobody cares about them yet, but they will,” he continued.
DeSantis unveiled his “Declaration of Economic Independence” in a Monday speech in New Hampshire, part of his attempt to “rebrand” his stagnating campaign in the weeks leading up to the first primary debate on Aug. 23.