Trump, DeSantis lining up supporters
GOP candidates in perception race to gather backers
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Ron DeSantis has yet to enter the 2024 presidential race, but former President Donald Trump is aiming to drum up support in the Florida governor’s backyard, securing endorsements already from more than one-third of the Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation.
Republicans hold 20 of Florida’s 28 U.S. House districts, and eight of those lawmakers have announced their support for Trump. They include Rep. Byron Donalds, who introduced DeSantis at his re-election party last year. Earlier this month, Donalds called Trump the only leader “at this time in our nation’s history who can seize the moment and deliver what we need.”
Rep. John Rutherford backed Trump on Tuesday shortly after leaving a Washington meeting with DeSantis. Others going with Trump are Reps. Vern Buchanan, Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Brian Mast, Cory Mills and Greg Steube,
In all, Trump has won the backing of more than 40 House Republicans across the country. His team, led by former White House political director Brian Jack, contacted some of those lawmakers, while others reached out to him.
Endorsements rarely have a dramatic effect on whom voters ultimately support, especially this early in a presidential primary. But they do signal which candidates are gaining support within a party. That’s important as Trump tries to assert himself as the undisputed leader of the GOP in seeking the 2024 nomination.
Trump’s endorsements are notable because they suggest his criminal indictment in New York this month did little to erode his support among elected Republicans. If anything, the charges may have enhanced his standing within the party.
“I think after the indictment, a lot of people were willing to be very vocal with their endorsement,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said.
DeSantis’ backers note the governor hasn’t formally launched his effort, making it harder for him to get official endorsements. He has expanded his travel outside of Florida, making his first appearances Wednesday in South Carolina, where support for any GOP nominee is critical, and where a few state lawmakers have said they will back him if he runs for the White House.
So far, DeSantis has three congressional endorsements, including one from Florida, first-term Rep. Laurel Lee, who served as DeSantis’ secretary of state for more than three years. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas was the first House member to sign on.
Rep. Thomas Massie, who has endorsed DeSantis, acknowledged Trump’s growing endorsement advantage but emphasized that the Florida governor hasn’t yet entered the 2024 race.
“Ron DeSantis hasn’t asked anybody for an endorsement,” Massie, R-Ky., said in an interview Wednesday. “He can’t ask anybody for an endorsement because he is not a candidate for president.”
The real question, Massie said, is why Trump has yet to lock up more endorsements, given that the former president is essentially an incumbent.
“I’m not concerned that Donald Trump is getting endorsements and getting a lot of them,” Massie said. “He should have all of Congress. Why doesn’t he have the whole Republican Congress?”
DeSantis’ slow start in building out a national coalition underscores his longstanding disdain for investing in relationships with other Republican leaders.