Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt endorsed his Florida counterpart, Gov. Ron DeSantis, in the 2024 presidential election as 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 daily attacks from Trump serving as headwinds.
Stitt, introducing DeSantis at a special event in Tulsa hosted by the political action committee Never Back Down, said the Floridian is in step with fellow Republicans while maintaining a steady hand amid pandemic and political tumult.
“DeSantis did not surrender states’ rights and individual liberties over to groupthink,” Stitt said. “In this election cycle, Oklahomans will remember that DeSantis was one of the few who never backed down.”
The unsealing Friday 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 is keeping Trump atop the news while posing an unavoidable challenge to opponents: recognize the seriousness of the case or embrace Trump’s claim he’s the victim of a witch hunt that has seen the Justice Department weaponized for political hit jobs.
Stitt didn’t mention Trump, who carried the Sooner state in both 2016 and 2020 with more than 65% of the vote, but he described DeSantis as a “principled leader” who has a chance at serving back-to-back terms, a span of 8 years. If Trump retakes the presidency, it would be his second term and he would be able to serve only four years.
“DeSantis has boldly delivered results for the people of Florida that laid the groundwork for a booming economy, an education system focused on student outcomes, and better infrastructure for working families,” the Oklahoma governor said.
The endorsement followed news that 20 Oklahoma state legislators and former GOP U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine also gave DeSantis their formal backing for president.
Speaking after Stitt, DeSantis addressed the challenge of Trump’s indictment, saying that if he’s elected, “You’ll have the Justice Department cleaned out from top to bottom.”
Emily Gold and Alec Hernández contributed.