(PartiallyPolitics.com) – Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political operation has been working to stop Republican members of the Florida congressional delegation from supporting former president Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid after four members publicly backed his campaign, according to four anonymous sources out of the six members contacted by DeSantis’ team.
Trump is currently holding a comfortable lead in the polls for the GOP presidential nomination. At the same time, DeSantis is trying to stop those in his own state from supporting Trump ahead of his own expected presidential run. Currently, DeSantis has not been endorsed by any of the 20 Republicans in the state congressional delegation.
Trump on the other hand was recently backed by Rep. Byron Donalds, who was previously a DeSantis ally and has also received endorsements from Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, Matt Gaetz, and Cory Mills have been vocal supporters of Trump.
Ryan Tyson, a longtime GOP pollster, and DeSantis supporter have been heading the efforts scheduling for calls between members of Congress and DeSantis.
A GOP consultant for one of the members that have been contacted by Trump’s team has stated that “there is clearly some angst from the DeSantis camp” as multiple members from the state’s congressional delegation have been backing Trump. There are also concerns about members potentially being in the middle of the fight between Trump and DeSantis in 2024.
While DeSantis has not yet announced his intentions for 2024, he is widely expected to launch a bid for the White House in May or June.
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