By supporting former U.N. ambassador Kelly Craft in the hotly contested race to unseat a Democratic governor of a red-state, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday reportedly entered a significant political contest beyond his anticipated run for president in 2024.
Following the failure of several of his endorsed candidates in the 2022 midterm elections, former President Donald Trump is testing the influence of his own endorsement for the first time in response to DeSantis’ last-minute support of Craft ahead of Tuesday’s unpredictable Republican primary.
Trump initially supported Craft’s opponent, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, but he stayed with his pick once Craft entered the race, despite the fact that she had previously served as both his ambassador to Canada and his ambassador to the United Nations following the departure of now-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
The victor of the election on Tuesday will go on to run against Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in the general election in November.
The victor of the election on Tuesday will go on to run against Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in the general election in November.
DeSantis is the most well-known person to openly back Craft since Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy done so recently.
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