Blow to Ron DeSantis as more key Florida backers switch to Trump

Five Republican legislators in Florida have switched their endorsements from the rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, to former US president Donald Trump before a key party nomination debate in Miami next week.

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The move is another boost to Trump – who remains dominant in the 2024 Republican race – and a blow to DeSantis, whose once highly anticipated bid for the White House has recently floundered badly. Recent polling has shown Trump with a strong lead over his rivals and DeSantis being edged out of second place by the former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

The five DeSantis defectors – out a total of seven new Trump endorsements in Florida – was first reported on Saturday by the Messenger. DeSantis’s national favorability polling has now slid for most of 2023, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Four Republican candidates, including DeSantis, have qualified for the third Republican TV debate in Miami on Wednesday. But Trump, who is skipping it, plans a same-day rally in the state. Trump’s frontrunning campaign has called for all future debates to be canceled so the party can “refocus its manpower and money” on defeating Democrats next year.

Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, too, plans to use the debate for counter-programming, including placing billboards around Trump’s Hialeah event warning of the “Florida blueprint brought to you by Maga Republicans”.

Trump’s seven endorsements, revealed at Florida Republicans’ “freedom summit” on Saturday, come after Senator Rick Scott announced his decision to back Trump on Thursday, and 10 days after the Florida representative Randy Fine switched horses from DeSantis to Trump.

The Florida governor now counts 93 Florida legislator endorsements from his home state, down from 99 in May. According to the Messenger, some are only sticking around “because they don’t want their bills or hometown spending projects vetoed”.

Legislators who have made the switch to Trump include the state congresswoman Jessica Baker, who said in statement that her constituents cited world instability and economic insecurity for wanting see “Trump back in the White House and Gov Ron DeSantis back on the job here in Florida”.

The Florida state senator Debbie Mayfield, who also switched, said it was “time to unite our party” behind Trump.

Also at the freedom summit on Saturday, Republican party activists cheered at any mention of Trump and booed any criticisms of him.

The former New Jersey governor Chris Christie also drew boos when he said that Trump, with the baggage of four pending indictments, was wrong for the country and his party.

“Go back to New Jersey!” some activists yelled. Unbowed, Christie chided his fellow Republicans: “Your anger against the truth is reprehensible.”

In his speech to the gathering, DeSantis did not mention Trump. Offstage, the rightwing governor downplayed the defections and shows of support for his rival.

“This happens in these things,” he told reporters “We’ve had flips the other way in other states. It’s a dynamic thing. Politicians do what they’re going to do.”

Experts think DeSantis’s run for the White House is in trouble.

“Weakening DeSantis’s standing in Florida is a clear objective of the Trump campaign,” Alex Conant, a Republican strategist, told the Associated Press. “His entire message is built on the idea that he is a terrific governor. When Republican officials in Florida are choosing Trump over DeSantis, it really weakens the core of DeSantis’s pitch.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting