Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) keeps tallying up endorsements for his potential presidential campaign, this time receiving 99 Republican supporters from the Florida state legislature, according to NBC New’s Matt Dixon.
Prominent names include State Representatives Berny Jacques, Danny Perez, Jessica Baker, Kaylee Tuck, Keith Truenow, Randy Fine, Mike Caruso, Adam Botana, Webster Barnaby, and Jason Shoaf.
99 GOP Florida state lawmakers are backing @GovRonDeSantis bid for president. There are 113 Republicans in the Legislature, with one so far backing Trump
Here are all the Florida House members pic.twitter.com/LSHWlExlRg
— Matt Dixon (@Mdixon55) May 17, 2023
Prominent Republican State Senators including Corey Simon, Jay Collins, Jay Trumbull, and Jason Brodeur signed off for the Florida Governor as well. Sen Simon told The Floridian's Publisher Javier Manjarres that we would be endorsing Gov. DeSantis
Here are the Florida Senators pic.twitter.com/hB5SUnMMua
— Matt Dixon (@Mdixon55) May 17, 2023
Moreover, even State Senator Blaise Ingoglia announced his support for DeSantis, despite originally telling Manjarres that he would stay out of the primary contest.
Earlier this week, Gov. DeSantis earned the nods of approval from the state legislature’s highest-ranking elected officials as House Speaker Paul Renner (R) and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R) made it official.
Sen. Passidomo stood by in concurrence as Speaker Renner announced their endorsement for DeSantis.
BREAKING—@Kathleen4SWFL and @Paul_Renner call for @GovRonDeSantis to run for President #Flpol pic.twitter.com/gEXne182X9
— Javier Manjarres (@JavManjarres) May 16, 2023
He stated that his “total, full support for Ron DeSantis, our greatest Governor,” stems from his ability to hold three different leadership qualities that allow him to be a “great leader.”
“Let me tell you why. There are three qualities of a great leader: you have to have integrity, principles, and courage. You can be a leader without one of those, but you can’t be a great leader without all of those.”
However, the Trump campaign provided their comments concerning the swath of endorsements, stating that DeSantis has “continued to terrorize the Florida legislature.”
Sources told The Floridian that a “full court press” was put on members of the legislature to endorse the Governor.
“It’s no surprise that Ron DeSantis and his political cronies have continued to terrorize the Florida legislature with the threat of his veto pen if they don’t acquiesce to his demand to endorse his candidacy. There are some brave legislators who have stood up to DeSantis’ Swamp-like behavior and resisted his intimidation tactics in order to do what is right for Florida and the country. Those who he can’t control – including almost the entirety of the Florida federal congressional delegation – have endorsed President Trump because he’s the only candidate who can beat Joe Biden and take back the White House.”
This Republican primary could be the nastiest in recent history.
