Global Courant
Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt supported his Florida counterpart, Governor Ron DeSantis, in the 2024 presidential election when the GOP candidate spoke in Tulsa on Saturday.
DeSantis, a runner-up to former President Donald Trump in most polls of Republican voters, is campaigning uphill, with Trump’s daily attacks as a headwind.
Stitt, who introduced DeSantis at a special event in Tulsa hosted by the Never Back Down political action committee, said the Floridian is keeping pace with his fellow Republicans while maintaining a steady hand amid pandemic and political turmoil.
“DeSantis has not surrendered the rights and individual liberties of states to groupthink,” Stitt said. “In this election cycle, the people of Oklahoma will remember that DeSantis was one of the few who never stood down.”
Friday’s revelation of a 37-count indictment against Trump related to more than 100 government documents found at the former president’s Florida home last August keeps Trump abreast of the news and presents an inevitable challenge to detractors: acknowledge the seriousness of the matter or embrace Trump claims he is the victim of a witch hunt that has armed the Justice Department for political hit jobs.
Stitt did not name Trump, who carried Sooner state with more than 65% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020, but he described DeSantis as a “leader of principle” who has a chance to serve consecutive terms, a span of 8 year. If Trump regains the presidency, it would be his second term and he could only serve four years.
“DeSantis has delivered courageous results for Florida residents that have laid the foundations for a thriving economy, an educational system focused on student outcomes and better infrastructure for working families,” said the governor of Oklahoma.
The approval followed news that 20 Oklahoma state lawmakers and former GOP U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine also gave DeSantis their formal endorsement for president.
After Stitt, DeSantis spoke about challenging Trump’s impeachment, saying that if he is elected, “you will have the Justice Department cleaned up from top to bottom.”
Emily Gold and Alec Hernández contributed.
