Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has picked up the endorsement of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt in the 2024 Republican presidential sweepstakes.
"Governor DeSantis is a strong conservative and principled leader, and I am proud to endorse him for president," Gov. Stitt stated on Saturday.
"In this election cycle, Oklahomans will remember that DeSantis was one of the few who never backed down in the face of adversity because DeSantis operated with dogged conviction and shared our values for a limited government and free country," Stitt continued.
Stitt’s full-throated endorsement of Gov. DeSantis comes on the heels of the 37-count federal indictment of former President Donald Trump that came down last Thursday, and could be seen as the first of many key endorsements to come for the popular governor from Florida.
Both DeSantis and President Trump have touted significant endorsements from state legislators across the country, but Trump has been able to garner the most congressional nods of approval.
Since before announcing his presidential bid, DeSantis and his team have been trying to land as many endorsements as possible, even attempting to preempt members of Congress from supporting Trump.
While DeSantis has been pressing for endorsements, he hasn’t been one to offer up his endorsement so quickly.
During the 2022 midterm election, a DeSantis endorsement was considered political gold because it was so hard to obtain.
Over his political career, DeSantis wasn’t one to throw his name behind many elected officials and Republican candidates for elected office.
During his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, DeSantis would tell candidates that because he was in cycle himself, he couldn’t openly endorse them, even as he was actively seeking out what turned out to be Trump’s primary-clinching endorsement.
As Trump’s federal indictment appears to create a deeper divide in American politics, and as the former president vows to fight the “hoax” case, voters may begin to take a really hard look at DeSantis over Trump.
Voters in both Iowa and South Carolina recently told The Floridian that while Trump is their choice, they wanted to hear what DeSantis had to say, and feel that he was their solid second choice.
“Big Trump supporter, Trump 100%, but I wanted to come to see what DeSantis has to say because I think we need to listen to what all candidates have to say and keep an open mind. I make a decision based on information. And the second we stop listening to all the candidates, we become just like the other side and become pre-programmed sheep," said Joseph from Bluffton, South Carolina.
