Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida announced Thursday that he is endorsing former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination — pushing out Ron DeSantis, Scott’s successor as Sunshine State governor.
Scott, 70, argued in a Newsweek op-ed that the time has come for Republicans to be one candidate short of defeating President Biden, and that while any Republican candidate would be better than the 80-year-old incumbent, GOP voters have made up their minds. clearly they want Trump back in the White House.
“I am optimistic that we can restore America to its rightful position as the economic and military power and the undisputed moral leader of the free world, but only with strong leadership in the White House,” Scott wrote.
“That is why I support my friend President Donald J. Trump to become the 47th president of the United States and encourage every Republican to unite behind his efforts to win back the White House.
“It’s time for the Republican Party to come together, behind one candidate, and declare with one voice that we are united in our efforts to defeat Joe Biden and save America,” Scott added, even though the first nominating contest, the Iowa caucus, doesn’t take place until Jan. 15. .
Rick Scott speaks during a Shabbat dinner on the opening day of the Republican Jewish Coalition leadership summit at the Venetian Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.AFP via Getty Images
Most Republicans in Congress — including most of Florida’s congressional delegation — have backed Trump, 77, to reclaim the office he lost to Biden in 2020.
The DeSantis campaign quickly responded to Scott’s endorsement, arguing that the governor would win the Florida primary and that their man had a broader base of support in key early states.
“Ron DeSantis has more endorsements from state legislators than any former president in Iowa (41), New Hampshire (62), and South Carolina (16),” spokesman Andrew Romeo said in a statement. “He also has the support of nearly all of Florida’s elected officials because he worked with them to deliver historic results for the conservative movement. The governor will win his home state because Floridians want to see a fighter who will bring the same type of results-oriented leadership to Washington that he has provided in the Sunshine State.”
President Donald Trump stands behind Florida Governor Rick Scott as he addresses a rally in Pensacola, Fla. Scott defeated Sen. Bill Nelson.AP
The 45th president has polled well ahead of the other GOP candidates, with the RealClearPolitics national polling average showing him with 59.3% support compared to the Florida governor’s 13.4%. No other candidate broke double digits.
In Florida, the 538 polling average showed Trump getting an average of 57.3% of the vote, with DeSantis at 21.9%.
Scott was narrowly elected to two terms as Florida governor in 2010 and 2014 before unseating Democratic incumbent US Sen. Bill Nelson in 2018. In contrast, DeSantis won re-election as governor last year by nearly 20 percentage points over Democrat Charlie Crist.
President Donald Trump (center) and US Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) (right) listen to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (left) during a visit to the Edgar Hoover Dike in Lake Okeechobee, Florida, on March 29, 2019.AFP via Getty Images
Scott, meanwhile, was widely blamed for Republicans’ failure to regain control of the Senate in the midterm elections — at which time he chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee — before launching an unsuccessful challenge to Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to lead the GOP conference.
Although Scott called for party unity in his op-ed, he stopped short of asking DeSantis or other contenders for the Republican nomination to leave the race.
“I have never demanded or asked another candidate to drop out of the political contest,” the senator wrote. “That is a decision that each candidate has to make for themselves. But I support Donald Trump for president because the stakes are too high.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
