Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received ten new endorsements Thursday from state legislators across the country, with two coming from the key early primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina, following the Republican National Committee’s (RNC’s) fourth GOP debate, the Daily Caller News Foundation first learned.
DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took the stage Wednesday evening in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, after meeting the RNC’s upped-debate requirements. Following a strong debate performance, DeSantis received the support from Republican state lawmakers in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois and Massachusetts, his campaign exclusively shared with the DCNF.
“Ron DeSantis has a great track record of delivering freedom,” New Hampshire state Rep. Dan McGuire told the DCNF in a statement. “He passed the best parental rights law in the country, implemented universal school choice, expanded Second Amendment rights, cut taxes, and paid down a quarter of his state’s debt. Ron DeSantis will take the New Hampshire ‘Live Free or Die’ model to the White House and deliver on the freedom agenda for the American people, and that is why I’m proud to support him for President.”
South Carolina state Sen. Bryan Adams also threw his support behind DeSantis, along with Alabama’s state Sen. Larry Stutts and state Rep. David Faulkner, according to the campaign. (RELATED: GOP Challengers Finally Produce Fireworks As Clock Ticks To Run Down Trump)
“Ron DeSantis is a proven conservative with a record of winning for Republicans at the ballot box. Alabamans care about protecting parents’ rights and our children, and Ron DeSantis will be the President to get it done,” Stutts told the DCNF in a statement.
(From L) Former Governor from South Carolina and UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy participate in the fourth Republican presidential primary debate at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on December 6, 2023. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Georgia’s state Reps. David Clark and Marcus Wiedower also endorsed DeSantis, as well as Illinois’ state Sen. Win Stoller and state Rep. William Hunter, and Massachusetts’ state Sen. Ryan Fattman and state Rep. Kelly Pease, according to the campaign.
“Ron DeSantis is the only candidate in the race that can unite the party and beat Joe Biden. His leadership, conservative credentials, and strength of character are unmatched. After his commanding debate performance, I’m proud to endorse him,” Wiedower told the DCNF in a statement.
DeSantis boasts over 300 endorsements from state-level Republicans across the country, including the support from 42 lawmakers in Iowa and 65 in New Hampshire, according to his campaign. The governor’s team noted that he has eight times as many endorsements from state lawmakers in Iowa than Haley and twice the amount of former President Donald Trump.
The RealClearPolitics (RCP) average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based on polls conducted between Nov. 9 and Dec. 4, indicates DeSantis has 13.5% support behind only Trump, followed by Haley with 10.3%, Ramaswamy with 4.9% and Christie with 2.5%. The governor is also polling in second with 18.7% support in the Iowa caucus RCP average, but has fallen to fourth in New Hampshire and third in South Carolina.
The governor mainly sparred with Haley on the debate stage, where Trump was not in attendance, most notably over gender ideology, China, social media regulation and more.
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