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Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has yet to officially declare his candidacy for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, is continuing to lose support to former President Donald Trump, his main rival.
On Wednesday, DeSantis embarked on his initial visit to South Carolina, an early primary state, as he continues to struggle to secure the endorsement of Trump, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.
The Florida governor is widely expected to jump into the GOP presidential race. During his visit to South Carolina, he will discuss his Florida Blueprint’ in the cities of North Charleston, Summerville, and Spartanburg.
It is customary for prominent politicians to visit states like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina when considering running for president because they are early primary states.
On Tuesday, prior to his South Carolina trip, DeSantis visited the Capitol in Washington, D.C., where he formerly served as a U.S. congressman from Florida, to meet with lawmakers. On Friday, he will deliver a speech at the Heritage Foundation Leadership Summit in the nation’s capital.
Meanwhile, Trump has been garnering endorsements from legislators in Washington, including some from the Florida Republican delegation, as he prepares for a potential White House run in 2024.
To that point, as he concluded his meetings on Tuesday, two additional Republican lawmakers announced their endorsements for Trump instead of the popular Florida governor.
Lance Gooden Endorses Trump After Meeting With DeSantis https://t.co/KnL00dDJP5
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) April 19, 2023
🚨Just in: Lance Gooden has officially endorsed Donald Trump for President in 2024. Lance has become the 14th Texas Representative to officially endorse Trump. @Lancegooden pic.twitter.com/VrTR8emokd
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) April 18, 2023
Representatives Brian Mast of Florida and Lance Gooden of Texas stated that they would be endorsing Trump for the primary election, despite Gooden’s previous affirmation of having a positive meeting with Governor DeSantis in person on Tuesday.
With the endorsements from Mast and Gooden, seven out of the 20 Republican congressmen from Florida have now endorsed Trump, who lives in the state, rather than DeSantis.
Representative Greg Steube, a Florida Republican who also chose to endorse Trump over DeSantis, recently made news after falling off a ladder. Steube claimed that the governor never reached out or responded to him during his time in the House.
According to Politico, the congressman stated that he made several efforts to contact Governor DeSantis but was unsuccessful. He also claimed that he was excluded from standing with the governor during an event focused on Hurricane Ian relief.
DeSantis has received one endorsement from a Florida lawmaker; freshman Rep. Laurel Lee, who previously served as Florida’s Secretary of State under DeSantis, has publicly backed him.
Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie have also endorsed DeSantis, the Daily Mail noted.
Thus far, Trump has received 45 endorsements in the House and nine in the Senate.
Despite losing endorsements to Trump, DeSantis nevertheless appears to be actively pursuing a presidential run with unwavering enthusiasm, the news outlet reported.
Two potential presidential contenders for the Republican nomination in 2024 hail from South Carolina – former Gov. Nikki Haley, who also served as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations under Trump’s administration, and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott. Although Scott has not yet declared his candidacy, he did reveal that he formed a presidential exploratory committee earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has reportedly paused plans to enter the 2024 presidential race.
The New York Times reported that Youngkin informed his advisers and donors that he’s focused on helping Republicans perform well in the state’s legislative elections in November, which is months after the party’s primary debates begin in August.
“Listen, I didn’t write a book, and I’m not in Iowa or New Hampshire or South Carolina,” Youngkin said when asked about a potential timeline for 2024. “I am wholly focused on the Commonwealth of Virginia, and I’m looking forward to these elections.’’
“Youngkin hopes to flip the state legislature to a Republican majority. That could earn him a closer look from rank-and-file Republicans nationwide, who so far have been indifferent to the presidential chatter surrounding him in the news media, and among heavyweight donors he would need to keep pace alongside more prominent candidates. He has yet to crack 1% in polls about the potential Republican field,” the New York Times reported.
