Florida Governor Ron DeSantis experienced a significant setback in his speculated 2024 presidential campaign when multiple GOP House Representatives pledged their support for former President Donald Trump. This unexpected development occurred while DeSantis was visiting Capitol Hill to meet with GOP lawmakers., according to Radar Online.
During DeSantis' visit to Washington, D.C., at least two House Representatives from Florida announced their endorsements for Trump in the 2024 presidential race. According to Politico, Florida House Representatives John Rutherford and Greg Steube revealed their support for Trump on Tuesday. Additionally, House Representative Brian Mast confirmed he would soon announce his endorsement for the former president.
In a surprising turn of events, GOP House Representative Lance Gooden of Texas left DeSantis' Capitol Hill meeting to publicly express his support for Trump on Tuesday. One source close to Trump's campaign described the move as "a killer."
Despite these setbacks, DeSantis managed to secure a few endorsements during his Washington visit, including one from his former secretary of state, Freshman House Representative Laurel Lee.
Although DeSantis has not yet officially confirmed his 2024 White House bid, he is widely considered to be Trump's main challenger in the upcoming presidential election. However, in light of these unexpected endorsements for Trump, DeSantis may face a more challenging path to secure GOP lawmakers' support for his potential White House run.
A source close to Trump's 2024 campaign described the ease with which the endorsements were secured, saying, "The amazing part of it is how easy it was." This source also disclosed that the Trump campaign sent an email on Sunday night requesting endorsements from several Sunshine State congress members.
One Republican reportedly responded enthusiastically, "Heck yes, I’d love to endorse him." Florida Representative Byron Donalds also agreed to endorse Trump.