Nearly all Republicans in the Florida legislature have decided to endorse Governor Ron DeSantis over former President Donald Trump, according to a list released this week.
The pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down released the list showing that 99 of the 113 Republicans in the Florida legislature signed a document endorsing DeSantis over Trump. Of the 14 remaining Republicans, only one has endorsed Trump.
“Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislature have worked together to achieve historic results and produce conservative victories for the people of Florida — turning the state into a beacon of freedom and the fastest growing state in the nation,” said Never Back Down Communications Director Erin Perrine. “The widespread support from legislators in his home state underscores DeSantis’s successful and effective leadership, which should serve as a blueprint for our country. Floridians know Ron DeSantis is the fresh face of conservatism America needs, and that he will beat Joe Biden in 2024.”
The Trump campaign responded, claiming that DeSantis was “terroriz[ing]” the Florida legislature into endorsing him by threatening to veto legislation. They did not name a single piece of legislation that DeSantis threatened to veto.
Matt Wolking, Strategic Communications Director for Never Back Down, who was a senior member of the 2020 Trump campaign, responded to the Trump campaign’s accusations against DeSantis by saying “there is no evidence to support this false accusation because it is entirely made up by Trump staffers, who are resorting to manufacturing fake news about Ron DeSantis to explain the tsunami of nearly 200 endorsements in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Florida for the governor in just the last few days.”
A top DeSantis political operation official responded to the endorsements by telling The Daily Wire: “Ron DeSantis’s support among Republicans in the Florida legislature is almost universal because these lawmakers have partnered with the governor to pass the most robust conservative agenda in the history of the state, putting Florida at the top of the rankings on every key metric.”
The statement was made in reference to a statement that Trump made last month when he said that his “support is almost universal in Florida.”
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The Florida lawmakers who endorsed DeSantis this week included:
- Senate President Kathleen Passidomo
- Sen. Ben Albritton (SD-27)
- Sen. Bryan Avila (SD- 39)
- Sen. Dennis Baxley (SD-13)
- Sen. Jim Boyd (SD-20)
- Sen. Jennifer Bradley (SD-6)
- Sen. Jason Brodeur (SD-100)
- Sen. Douglas Broxson (SD-1)
- Sen. Danny Burgess (SD-23)
- Sen. Colleen Burton (SD-12)
- Sen. Alexis Calatayud (SD-38)
- Sen. Jay Collins (SD-13)
- Sen. Nick DiCeglie (SD-18)
- Sen. Gayle Harrell (SD-31)
- Sen. Travis Hutson (SD-7)
- Sen. Blaise Ingoglia (SD-11)
- Sen. Jonathan Martin (SD-33)
- Sen. Debbie Mayfield (SD-19)
- Sen. Keith Perry (SD-9)
- Sen. Corey Simon (SD-3)
- Sen. Jay Trumbull (SD-2)
- Sen. Clay Yarborough (SD-4)
- Speaker of the House Paul Renner
- Rep. Shane Abbott (HD-5)
- Rep. Thad Altman (HD-32)
- Rep. Danny Alvarez (HD-69)
- Rep. Adam Anderson (HD-57)
- Rep. Alex Andrade (HD-2)
- Rep. Jessica Baker (HD-17)
- Rep. Douglas Bankson (HD-39)
- Rep. Webster Barnaby (HD-29)
- Rep. Fabián Basabe (HD-106)
- Rep. Melony Bell (HD-49)
- Rep. Kimberly Berfield (HD-58)
- Rep. Adam Botana (HD-80)
- Rep. Robert Brackett (HD-34)
- Rep. Chuck Brannan (HD-10)
- Rep. James Buchanan (HD-74)
- Rep. Jennifer Canady (HD-50)
- Rep. Mike Caruso (HD-87)
- Rep. Ryan Chamberlin (HD-24)
- Rep. Linda Chaney (HD-61)
- Rep. Chuck Clemons (HD-22)
- Rep. Wyman Duggan (HD-12)
- Rep. Tiffany Esposito (HD-77)
- Rep. Tom Fabricio (HD-110)
- Rep. Juan Fernandez-Barquin (HD-118)
- Rep. Randy Fine (HD-33)
- Rep. Alina Garcia (HD-115)
- Rep. Sam Garrison (HD-11)
- Rep. Mike Giallombardo (HD-79)
- Rep. Karen Gonzalez Pittman (HD-65)
- Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman (HD-91)
- Rep. Michael Grant (HD-75)
- Rep. Tommy Gregory (HD-72)
- Rep. Griff Griffitts (HD-6)
- Rep. Fred Hawkins (HD-35)
- Rep. Jeff Holcomb (HD-53)
- Rep. Berny Jacques (HD-59)
- Rep. Sam Killebrew (HD-48)
- Rep. Traci Koster (HD-66)
- Rep. Chip LaMarca (HD-100)
- Rep. Tom Leek (HD-28)
- Rep. Vicki Lopez (HD-113)
- Rep. Randy Maggard (HD-54)
- Rep. Patt Maney (HD-4)
- Rep. Ralph Massullo (HD-23)
- Rep. Stan McClain (HD-27)
- Rep. Lawrence McClure (HD-68)
- Rep. Fiona McFarland (HD-73)
- Rep. Lauren Melo (HD-82)
- Rep. Kiyan Michael (HD-16)
- Rep. Jim Mooney (HD-120)
- Rep. Toby Overdorf (HD-85)
- Rep. Bobby Payne (HD-20)
- Rep. Daniel Perez (HD-116)
- Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka (HD-78)
- Rep. Rachel Plakon (HD-36)
- Rep. Alex Rizo (HD-112)
- Rep. Spencer Roach (HD-76)
- Rep. Will Robinson (HD-71)
- Rep. Bob Rommel (HD-81)
- Rep. Joel Rudman (HD-3)
- Rep. Michelle Salzman (HD-1)
- Rep. Jason Shoaf (HD-7)
- Rep. Tyler Sirois (HD-31)
- Rep. David Smith (HD-38)
- Rep. John Snyder (HD-86)
- Rep. Paula Stark (HD-47)
- Rep. Kevin Steele (HD-55)
- Rep. Cyndi Stevenson (HD-18)
- Rep. John Temple (HD-52)
- Rep. Josie Tomkow (HD-51)
- Rep. Dana Trabulsy (HD-84)
- Rep. Chase Tramont (HD-30)
- Rep. Keith Truenow (HD-26)
- Rep. Kaylee Tuck (HD-83)
- Rep. Taylor Yarkosky (HD-25)
- Rep. Brad Yeager (HD-56)