(DailyVantage.com) – On Monday, former Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who was a gubernatorial candidate in New York last November, appeared alongside Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) at a pro-law enforcement rally in Staten Island, New York’s reddest borough.
Zeldin, a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, introduced DeSantis as an “exceptional governor” who has steered his state in the “right direction.”
Zeldin, who has not endorsed a candidate for 2024 yet, gave quite a glowing review of DeSantis who is expected to announce his decision in a month or two.
DeSantis, if he does decide to run, would certainly pose a significant threat to Trump in the 2024 GOP primaries. According to a myriad of polling conducted in recent months, Trump and DeSantis are, by far, the two front runners in the Republican field. Former South Carolina Governor and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who is the only other officially declared candidate so far, travels far behind the two.
Others such as former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD) Larry Hogan (R-MD), Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), and Trump-era Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, are trailing Trump and DeSantis by a significant percentage.
If Zeldin does decide to back DeSantis against Trump for 2024, it might serve as a significant boon to DeSantis’s polling numbers. As of now, though, it appears as though Zeldin is still shopping around.
So far, only a handful of Republicans in Congress have endorsed Trump for 2024. Some include: Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and House Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
Many of the members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus are expected to back Trump. Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC), who is a member of the Caucus, surprised a lot in the media when he endorsed Nikki Haley in a tweet on February 15th. Perhaps others will follow suit.
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