With President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence being dubbed the “Winter White House” after he was first elected in 2016, not only did the residence become the center of the political universe outside of Washington, D.C., Florida become the state where Americans around the country began to migrate to. Florida has become ground zero for recruitment for the incoming Trump administration.
Under Governor Ron DeSantis (R), Florida went from being the ultimate swing state, with Democrats holding a significant voter registration advantage over Republicans, to a “Red State” after Republicans added an insurmountable 1,000,000 voter registration advantage during his second term as Governor and under the leadership of Evan Power, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.
Now, as the President-elect transitions into his second term in office, Florida is playing a pivotal role in filling the President’s executive cabinet and administration.
With Trump having tapped Senator Marco Rubio to be his Secretary of State, Gov. DeSantis is not tasked to fill the soon-to-be-vacated Senate seat.
In addition, two other congressional seats, and possibly a third, will take part in a special election to replace the congressional lawmakers who resigned their seats to join the incoming Trump administration.
Trump chose Rep. Michael Waltz (R) to be his National Security Advisor and nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) as Attorney General.
Rep. Gaetz recently withdrew his name for consideration to become attorney general. Trump quickly chose former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to replace Rep. Gaetz. Shortly after Trump nominated Bondi, Democrats lashed out at the choice, referring to Bondi as a "lackey."
Both national and state Republicans and Trump allies came out in force to defend Bondi from the barbs Democrats were throwing at her.
"She has always been a steadfast supporter and friend of President Donald Trump and will continue to support President Trump's America First agenda. I am honored to call her my friend," said Rep.-elect Weinberger.
Both national and state Republicans and Trump allies came out in force to defend Bondi from the barbs Democrats were throwing at her.
"She has always been a steadfast supporter and friend of President Donald Trump and will continue to support President Trump's America First agenda. I am honored to call her my friend," said Rep.-elect Weinberger.
In the two special congressional elections in Districts 1 and 6, Trump has already endorsed candidates in the races, presumably to galvanize and solidify support behind one candidate to avoid an expensive primary election.
Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis and State Senator Randy Fine both announced their congressional campaigns within hours of receiving the coveted Trump endorsement, and both resigned from their respected elected positions.
As for that third congressional seat that could be up for grabs, that decision may come down within the next two weeks and will once again shake up Florida politics.
