U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick has endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for President in 2024. It’s the first major endorsement for DeSantis in the Peach State, and comes before he has even officially announced his candidacy for the GOP nomination.
DeSantis is expected to announce he is running for President during a forum on Twitter Wednesday with Twitter owner Elon Musk.
McCormick, who represents Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, announced his support on the very same platform DeSantis will reportedly make his big news.
“We need a warrior who will do whatever it takes to champion conservative values and safeguard the next generation,” McCormick tweeted. “When it comes to the 2024 election, I’ve made my choice: Governor @RonDeSantis is battle-tested and ready to be our next President.”
In a video, McCormick said he went to Congress “to fight for America’s future, to revive freedom and save our nation.”
“Under Joe Biden’s failed leadership, our union has suffered. Our southern border is a wreck, crime is over-running our cities and our energy policy empowers communist China who pollutes the world more than anyone else,” he continued.
We need a warrior who will do whatever it takes to champion conservative values and safeguard the next generation. When it comes to the 2024 election, I’ve made my choice: Governor @RonDeSantis is battle-tested and ready to be our next President. pic.twitter.com/3ooScXZyNh
— Dr. Rich McCormick for Congress (@RichforGA) May 23, 2023
Seven hours after it was posted, McCormick’s tweet received 138,000 views.
Comments quickly piled up, highlighting DeSantis’ greatest challenge: Former President Donald Trump. Numerous Trump supporters flooded the comments questioning McCormick’s endorsement, with several asking him to clarify what he meant by DeSantis being “battle-tested.”
One commenter shared screenshots of headlines highlighting Florida’s affordable housing crisis and one about accusations DeSantis favors the insurance industry at residents’ expense. Others got more personal, with one person tweeting that they “like my Warriors to be taller than 5’7”, prompting another to respond “and actually ‘running’ for President,” a nod to the fact that DeSantis is not yet officially in the race.
Despite efforts from Democrats to the contrary, Georgia will not be an early Primary state. It will hold its Presidential Primary on March 12, 2024, a week after Super Tuesday.
If polling is any indication, DeSantis may not even be in the running by then and, in any case, the field will likely be narrowed. DeSantis is polling more than 30 percentage points behind Trump, according to FiveThirtyEight’s average of polls. That’s the widest lead Trump has had since the service launched in early March. As of May 23, Trump’s average in polls was more than 53%, while DeSantis sat at just under 21%.
Still, he’s firmly in the No. 2 spot, with former Vice President Mike Pence in third place at just 5.5%.
