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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not asked for former President Donald Trump’s endorsement in his 2022 re-election campaign, Politico reported Wednesday.
DeSantis, the 43-year-old massively popular Republican, is up for re-election in Florida in November. DeSantis has been widely floated as a potential challenger to Trump in 2024, and his reluctance to obtain Trump’s endorsement could be viewed as a power play.
DeSantis has consistently avoided questions about whether he plans to run for president in 2024, regardless of whether Trump is in the race. However, he raised eyebrows in early June when he won the 2024 straw poll at the annual Western Conservative Summit in Colorado.
The Florida Republican won the straw poll with 71% support, while Trump received 67%. The straw poll was based on an approval system that allowed attendees to throw support behind multiple candidates.
Ron DeSantis with Donald Trump.
(Getty Images)
DeSantis is widely expected to win re-election in November, with polls projecting a win by seven points over former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who is the likely Democratic nominee.
The DeSantis administration has pressed for multiple socially conservative policies, with the governor signing a 15-week abortion ban into law in April.
The governor also blocked a slew of textbooks from being taught in the state’s public schools after his administration determined they contained elements of critical race theory.
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“It seems that some publishers attempted to slap a coat of paint on an old house built on the foundation of Common Core, and indoctrinating concepts like race essentialism, especially, bizarrely, for elementary school students,” DeSantis said in a statement at the time. “I’m grateful that Commissioner Corcoran and his team at the Department have conducted such a thorough vetting of these textbooks to ensure they comply with the law.”
The move came weeks after DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education Act, which prevents educators from teaching about gender identity or sexual orientation to kids between kindergarten and third grade.
