Florida Republicans don’t want to say whether they are backing Trump or DeSantis
Emily Jacobs
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Most of Florida’s majority Republican congressional delegation is steering clear of state Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump’s rivalry for the 2024 GOP nomination.
DeSantis and Trump both hail from Florida, and recent polls have shown the two in a dead heat in the Sunshine State. The Florida governor, who has yet to announce his 2024 candidacy, is credited with leading his party to a stunning victory in the 2022 midterm elections. His rise to national prominence has led pundits and pollsters to anoint him as the former president’s top primary competitor, leaving Florida Republicans in a sticky spot politically. Asked who they’ll back in the primary, the majority of Florida’s GOP congressional delegation declined to give a firm answer.
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“Oh, wow. You really are trying to get me into a situation here,” Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL) told the outlet, adding that while he had already made up his mind on who he’d endorse, “I don’t need to make myself a target for a year.”
“Do you think I want to talk about that? You think I’m crazy?” another Florida Republican, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said of the Ron vs. Don feud.
Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL), a freshman lawmaker, called the question of choosing between DeSantis and Trump “Sophie’s choice,” in reference to the 1982 film about a woman forced to choose between two of her children.
“The most important thing is, Florida will be in the mix,” Bean added. Pressed again about making a choice, Bean declined to give a specific answer, instead simply praising DeSantis.
None of the Florida members have endorsed DeSantis, while two have endorsed Trump: Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL). One Republican said that DeSantis’s outreach up to this point had been “nonexistent.”
“Candidly, he’s not in the race. So members are not gonna put themselves on the line,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) said of DeSantis’s candidacy.
“I’m not getting in the middle of that,” Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) said. “I want to let things play out, and so many people are going to be involved.”
“We’re gonna have to make a choice. Choices are coming,” said Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL), who added that while he was “open” to either candidate, he thought the primary fight would be “a good thing for the state of Florida.”
“It’ll be a tough primary,” Rutherford said. “Even though it’s coming quickly, it’s still kind of early.”
As for the state’s two Republican senators, both were quick to distance themselves from the primary scuffle.
“DeSantis doesn’t talk to me, so I don’t know about DeSantis. I talk to Trump. I wish him all the best of luck,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said, adding he hasn’t “historically” endorsed in primaries.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), meanwhile, said he has “spent zero time thinking about” the matter, telling the outlet that the primary “is a long ways away.”
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The Florida governor, the only GOP name that comes anywhere close to the former president in primary polls, has remained tight-lipped about his 2024 plans and is not expected to make an announcement before the conclusion of the state’s legislative session, which ends in May.
A growing chorus of DeSantis allies has said in recent weeks that the governor planned to launch his White House bid sometime this summer. Trump was the first to throw his hat in the ring for the 2024 GOP nomination late last year and has made DeSantis an early political target.