SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis picked up a slew of endorsements for his 2024 US presidential campaign on Friday, July 21 as part of his scheduled appearance at a private barbecue fundraiser in Salt Lake City. This is DeSantis’ second appearance in Utah since he headlined the state GOP convention in April.
A press event in the Gold Room Friday at the Utah State Capitol preceded the fundraiser in Pleasant Grove Friday evening, with tickets reportedly ranging from $1,000 to attend the barbecue to more than $6,000 for a VIP reception with the governor.
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Utah Senate President Stuart Adams (R-Layton), who organized the fundraiser, was the first and biggest endorsement DeSantis received Friday, though a quick trip to Twitter has shown some other state lawmakers who have linked to DeSantis’ campaign.
“It was a pleasure to meet with Governor Ron DeSantis yesterday while visiting Utah,” he said. Utah House Dist. 49 Deputy Candice Pierucci (R-Herriman) on Twitter this afternoon. “I am excited to endorse him in his bid for President of the United States!”
“I am impressed by his bold approach to solving problems without distractions,” he said Utah House Dist. 46 Rep. Jeff Stenquist (R-Draper), also in a tweet. “We need someone who can beat Joe Biden in 2024 and I think Governor DeSantis is someone who can take back the White House.”
Gov. Spencer Cox has yet to be among those who have endorsed the Florida governor, though the two reportedly met privately on Friday before the press event.
Among those less impressed with DeSantis were figures like Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, who took issue with DeSantis’ comments earlier this week about slavery in relation to the Florida Board of Education’s new education standards.
“They’ll probably show that some of the people who eventually took advantage of being a blacksmith to make things later in life. But the reality is: it’s all rooted in everything that’s made,” he said.
Gill said on Twitter this morning that DeSantis’ comments were “unbelievable,” and said his supporters were “a bunch of mockers who believe, support, and stand in idiotic, complicit, dangerous silence for this frivolous, dangerous future president. … Slavery was evil and barbaric perpetuated by physical and sexual violence. Slavery profited from pain and suffering. Slavery killed, bred, sold, raped and separate families. Nothing can redeem this sin. No rewriting will wash away this stain.”
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DeSantis boasted of his long list of endorsements and support in Utah on Friday, telling a group of supporters in the deeply religious state that he was driven by faith in God rather than political ideology, according to the Associated Press.
“My fighting faith is faith in God,” DeSantis said. “Politics plays a role, but I don’t think it should be the number one division in our country.”
Currently, according to FiveThirtyEight.com, DeSantis is polling a distant second to former US President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican primary nationwide, with Trump near 51% and DeSantis just under 20% of Republican voters. Here in the hive state, surveys of Deseret News and the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah earlier this month show Trump closer to 29% among registered Utah voters with DeSantis at about 24%. Other polls in the contest include former US Vice President Mike Pence (6%), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (4%) and former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney (4%).
Other known endorsements from Utah, either this week or previously, include:
Riverton Mayor and US Senate Candidate Trent Staggs Salt Lake City Councilwoman Aimee Winder State Auditor John Dougall State Representative Melissa Garff Ballard State Representative Kera Birkeland State Representative Brady Brammer State Representative Walt Brooks State Representative Jefferson Burton State Representative Kay Christofferson State Representative Paul Cutler State Representative Timothy Hawkes Rep. State Rep. Marsha Judkins State Rep. Karianne Lisonbee State Rep. Jefferson Moss State Rep. Karen M. Peterson State Rep. Candice Pierucci State Rep. Susan Pulsipher State Rep. Mike Schultz State Rep. Casey Snider State Rep. Robert Spendlove State Rep. Keven Stratton State Rep. Jeff Stenquist State Rep. Jordan Teuscher Rep. x State Senator Jake Anderegg State Senator Curt Bramble State Senator Kirk Cullimore, Jr. State Senator Lincoln Fillmore State Senator Mike Kennedy State Senator Daniel McCray State Senator Mike McKell State Senator Derrin Owens State Senator Scott Sandall State Senator Evan Vickers State Senator Todd Weiler
