Five Republican Florida state legislators change DeSantis’ endorsement of Trump
Five Florida lawmakers have switched their allegiance from Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to former President Donald Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
In all, Trump cattle seven endorsements from state lawmakers on Saturday, the same day he gave a speech at the Florida Freedom Summit. The five who switched from DeSantis to Trump include state Reps. Jessica Baker, Webster Barnaby, Alina Garcia, Kevin Steele and state Sen. Debbie Mayfield.
State Reps. Mike Beltran and David Borrero, who had not yet endorsed him in the race, threw their support behind the former president and GOP front-runner on Saturday. Previously, Trump lost support from two Representatives from the state of New Hampshire and one state from Iowa senatorwho defected and went over to DeSantis.
“As instability grows around the world and economic uncertainty takes hold here at home, people in my district constantly tell me that they want to see President Donald Trump back in the White House and Governor Ron DeSantis back in office. work here in Florida, finishing the work he promised to do less than a year ago,” Baker said in a statement to The Messenger, the news outlet that first published reported the backups.
On Saturday, Trump brought to the stage some of the lawmakers who expressed their support during his speech at the summit, where reportedly received the largest show of support among all Republican presidential candidates. According to Florida’s Voice, as the lawmakers left the stage, the crowd began chanting, “We love Trump!”
WATCH: “We love Trump!” Chants break out from Florida crowd after Trump mentions Florida lawmakers who switched endorsements from him to DeSantis. pic.twitter.com/yKlux9splo
— The Voice of Florida (@FLVoiceNews) November 4, 2023
The seven endorsements follow another DeSantis defector, state Rep. Randy Fine, who backed up Trump two weeks ago. Trump also has the support of the majority of Florida’s congressional delegation, including Reps. Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz and Anna Paulina Luna. Fourteen of Florida’s Republican congressmen have endorsed the former president, while one has endorsed DeSantis, according to The Messenger.
On Thursday, Trump earned the endorsement of Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL). Scott, who served as Florida’s governor until 2019, when he became a senator, said he and Trump had a strong relationship during Trump’s first term, working “hand in hand” to improve Florida.
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“I don’t think he has any doubts in his mind. “He is the only person who can truly restore strength to our country,” Scott said the crowd at the Freedom Summit.
in both the 2010 and 2014 In the gubernatorial election, Scott defeated his Democratic rivals by just over one percentage point. In 2018, DeSantis defeated Democratic challenger Andrew Gillum won by 0.4%, but won by a 0.4% margin. margin of more than 19 percentage points four years later. In 2016, Trump cattle the state by just over one percentage point and increase his support in the state four years later, defeating President Joe Biden between 51.2% and 47.9%.
For its part, DeSantis’ team said his detractors didn’t mean much in the race and touted their endorsement in Iowa.
“Ron DeSantis is dominating the field, including the former president, with state legislative endorsements from across the country,” spokesman Bryan Griffin told The Messenger. “In Iowa, DeSantis has a record tally of 41 state legislative endorsements, far surpassing Trump…And in Florida, DeSantis has nearly 100 state legislators backing his candidacy for president. That is also a number that significantly exceeds Trump.”
