Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to work the grassroots to campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, picking up 13 endorsements Friday in the Super Tuesday state of Utah.
DeSantis now has a total of at least 274 endorsements from state legislators, a strategy that allows the current No. 2 in GOP primary polling to branch out from district to district in key battleground states.
"I am proud to endorse Ron DeSantis for president of the United States," Utah State Senate President Stuart Adams, who endorsed former President Donald Trump in 2016, wrote in a statement. "Gov. DeSantis is a strong conservative leader who knows how to get things done and has the record to prove it. Now more than ever, our nation needs an energetic executive leader who will get right to work for the American people on Day 1."
Utah State Sen. Todd Weiler was among the dozen other endorsements DeSantis picked up.
"Our nation stands at a crossroads," Weiler wrote. "Joe Biden been a disaster for families in Utah and across the country and simply put, we cannot afford to lose the 2024 election.
"We need a leader who can build coalitions, win, and strengthen and unify our nation. That candidate is Ron DeSantis and I am proud to endorse him for president of the United States."
Utah State lawmakers to announce their endorsement of DeSantis:
- Senate President Stuart Adams
- Sen. Todd Weiler
- Sen. Jacob "Jake" Anderegg
- Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers
- Rep. Brady Brammer
- Rep. Candice Pierucci
- Rep. Christine Watkins
- Rep. Dan Johnson
- Rep. Jordan Teuscher
- Rep. Raymond Ward
- Rep. Stephanie Gricius
- Rep. Karen Peterson
- Rep. Melissa Garff Ballard
The breakdown of DeSantis endorsements to date:
- 99 Florida State legislators
- 50 New Hampshire State legislators
- 39 Iowa State legislators
- 20 Oklahoma State legislators
- 19 Michigan State legislators
- 19 North Carolina State legislators
- 15 South Carolina State legislators
DeSantis has been branching out from early primary states to Super Tuesday states, drawing a key endorsement from Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting DeSantis, plans to invest $100 million on ground operations targeting the first 18 states — four early states plus Super Tuesday states — including paid staff such as state campaign directors. Door knocking is well underway in the first states and will start in Super Tuesday states this summer, with a goal of having 2,600 people out supporting the Florida governor by Labor Day.
"Nobody else is doing what we're doing as of this point," PAC spokeswoman Erin Perrine said.
"They know the name, but they don't necessarily know the man," she added. "We've seen that where we show people the man that we take away Trump supporters and that they come over to the DeSantis camp."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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