Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt endorsed his Florida counterpart, Gov. Ron DeSantis, in the 2024 presidential election as the GOP nominee spoke in Tulsa on Saturday.
DeSantis, runner-up to former President Donald Trump in most polls of Republican voters, is campaigning uphill, with Trump’s daily attacks serving as headwinds.
Stitt, introducing DeSantis at a special event in Tulsa hosted by the Never Back Down political action committee, said the Floridian is in tune with his fellow Republicans while maintaining a steady hand amid the pandemic and tumult. policy.
“DeSantis did not cede states’ rights and individual liberties to groupthink,” Stitt said. “In this election cycle, Oklahomans will remember that DeSantis was one of the few who never backed down.”
Friday’s unveiling of a 37-count indictment against Trump in connection with more than 100 government documents found at the former president’s Florida home last August keeps Trump on top of the news while posing an inevitable challenge to naysayers: acknowledge the gravity of the matter or embrace Trump’s claim that he is the victim of a witch hunt that has seen the Justice Department armed for political blockbuster jobs.
Stitt did not mention Trump, who carried the state earlier in 2016 and 2020 with more than 65% of the vote, but he described DeSantis as a “principled leader” who has a chance to serve consecutive terms. a period of 8 years. If Trump returns to the presidency, it would be his second term and he could only serve four years.
“DeSantis boldly delivered results for Florida residents that laid the foundation for a booming economy, an education system focused on student outcomes, and better infrastructure for working families,” said the Governor of Oklahoma.
The endorsement followed news that 20 Oklahoma state lawmakers and former U.S. GOP Rep. Jim Bridenstine also gave DeSantis their official endorsement for the presidency.
Speaking after Stitt, DeSantis addressed the challenge of Trump’s indictment, saying that if elected, “you’ll have the Justice Department cleaned up from top to bottom.”
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com