In Florida, the GOP showcase state, these Republicans are in the spotlight
Though all focus is on the midterm elections, the 2024 presidential primaries aren’t far off. These four Florida Republicans could be in the mix.
Florida is increasingly becoming a showcase for GOP politicians as Democrats struggle to stay competitive.
It is the state where conservative legislation goes to become law. Where the Conservative Political Action Conference has made its pandemic-era home outside of Washington. Where former President Donald Trump continues to hold court.
And with the midterm election approaching — and the coming months crucial to setting the stage for 2024 — no fewer than four Sunshine State Republicans are in the spotlight as they pursue reelection or position themselves for the future.
DONALD TRUMP
He remains banned from Twitter and Facebook and is the subject of multiple investigations in multiple jurisdictions. But from his Palm Beach perch at Mar-a-Lago, America’s 45th president remains a force in GOP politics.
Despite the fallout of the attack on the U.S. Capitol and his continued false claims that the 2020 election was rigged, Republican candidates across the country are embracing Trump’s style of politics and are competing for his endorsement.
The coming weeks will show how much voters value his blessing, and whether they remain enamored of his combative style of leadership, as competitive, high-stakes Republican primaries play out in places like Ohio (May 3), Pennsylvania (May 17) and Georgia (May 24).
Polling continues to suggest that, at this point, Republican voters would support Trump in a primary if he made a third run at the White House. Meanwhile, Trump is struggling to get a new social media platform, Truth Social, off the ground.
RON DESANTIS
If polls show that
Trump retains his top-dog status in the Republican Party, then they also show his closest competition may be the man he says he made: Florida’s governor.
Ron DeSantis, a former Ponte Vedra Beach congressman who won the 2018 GOP Florida primary thanks in no small part to Trump’s endorsement, is an ascendant figure in the Republican Party. He regularly makes headlines by championing polarizing legislation and holding combative press conferences. Over the past year, the former Navy JAG lawyer has visited the southern border in Texas, California, Wisconsin, Nebraska, New Jersey and Nevada.
His rising star has led to speculation of a 2024 run and perhaps a looming clash with Trump. But first, he must win reelection in Florida, though he is an early favorite over the 2022 Democratic field and is raising a mountain of campaign cash while waiting for an opponent to emerge from the left.
RICK SCOTT
Florida’s junior senator isn’t on the ballot in 2022. Not in name, anyway. But as the head of Senate Republicans’ campaign machine, America’s wealthiest U.S. senator has a lot riding on the results of statewide races across the country.
If Republicans win the majority in the Senate, he’ll get some credit. If they fail to flip the evenly divided chamber, he’ll get some blame. Either way, he is raising his profile and campaign cash while helping candidates run in battlegrounds.
Scott’s ambitions have at times put him crosswise with other Republican Senate leaders, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in particular. After Scott released his “Rescue America” plan — which, among other things, proposed to sunset federal programs like Medicare and Social Security every five years unless they’re reauthorized by Congress — McConnell publicly took a shot at Scott’s plan during a leadership press conference.
Scott has said he has no interest in running for majority leader should Republicans take control of the Senate, despite a Politico report that he was being recruited by Trump. Scott has also said that he intends to run for reelection in 2024 rather than seek the presidency.
MARCO RUBIO
The most vulnerable of the bunch, Florida’s senior senator is focused this year on fending off a challenge from his likely Democratic rival in November: Orlando Congresswoman Val Demings.
Polling has suggested he is comfortably ahead of
Demings in a difficult climate for Democrats, with President Joe Biden’s approval rating in the basement and inflation driving concerns about the economy. Demings is raising enough money to compete with Rubio, but Republicans are registering more voters, a resource more valuable than money.
Rubio’s run for president in 2016 means he’ll continue to be in the discussion about possible 2024 candidates, but his future aspirations aren’t clear. In the meantime, as leftist regimes remain entrenched in Latin American countries, he remains one of the most prominent faces of global politics in the Western Hemisphere.