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While the 2024 Republican presidential primaries are still months away, former President Donald Trump is already winning in terms of congressional endorsements over his potentially biggest rival.
As of April 21, Trump currently has around 60 House and Senate Republicans who have officially announced they will be backing him in the 2024 election, or are among his Elected Leadership Team to campaign for the former president for primaries in states across the country.
By comparison, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has long been thought to be the biggest challenger to Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, only has three endorsements from the 118th Congress: Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Chip Roy of Texas, and Laurel Lee of Florida.
It should be noted that any comparison at this stage is perhaps unfair. Trump announced his candidacy in November 2022, whereas DeSantis has yet to confirm he is running for president—but is widely believed to do so soon.
A large number of Trump's 2024 endorsements, such as Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance and Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, are MAGA loyalists who would have been expected to back the former president in any primary race.
What could be hard for DeSantis to take currently is the number of lawmakers in the Sunshine State who are opting for Trump over the Florida governor.
Currently, Lee is the only Florida Republican to say they will back DeSantis in a 2024 campaign. In comparison, Trump has racked up nearly a dozen endorsements: Representatives Vern Buchanan, Greg Stuebe, Anna Paulina Luna, Matt Gaetz, Cory Mills, John Rutherford, Brian Mast and Michael Waltz.
Two more members of the Florida congressional delegation, Representatives Gus Bilirakis and Carlos Gimenez, are each planning to formally announce their support for the former president soon.
Representative Byron Donalds, a previous close ally of DeSantis, also delivered a crushing blow by announcing he is backing Trump over the Florida governor.
Newsweek reached out to DeSantis' office via email for comment.
"When your calling card is Florida and folks in your own backyard defect that is never a good sign," Ford O'Connell, a Republican consultant who was a Trump campaign surrogate in 2020, told Reuters. "They have the DeSantis campaign in a vulnerable position."
The lack of Florida endorsements is particularly troubling for DeSantis as NBC News previously reported that DeSantis' team had reached out to six GOP Florida members of Congress—Buchanan, Stuebe, Lee, as well as Representatives Aaron Bean, Kat Cammack and Mario Diaz-Balart, asking them not to announce their 2024 backings just yet.
Shortly afterward, both Buchanan and Stuebe publicly announced they will be endorsing Trump.
In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump took a shot at DeSantis' lack of 2024 support in Florida.
"A great group of supportive Florida Congressmen and Congresswomen, all who have Endorsed me, will be coming to Mar-a-Lago tonight," Trump wrote. "Our support is almost universal in Florida and throughout the USA. They remember fondly all of the incredible things I did while in office, one of the most successful Administrations in History. Will be a great night!"
It is unclear which members of Florida's congressional delegation were present at the Mar-a-Lago event on Thursday.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more