More than a dozen state lawmakers in Utah are poised to endorse Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in his run for the White House, giving him a key boost in a heavily Republican state that has somewhat shied away from former President Donald Trump in recent years.
The endorsement comes after DeSantis met with the group of legislators in Salt Lake City on Friday, bringing the Florida governor’s total number of endorsements from state lawmakers to 270. The meeting was led by Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, who is set to hold a fundraising event for DeSantis later in the evening.
“Gov. DeSantis is a strong conservative leader who knows how to get things done and has the record to prove it,” Adams said in a statement. “Now more than ever, our nation needs an energetic executive leader who will get right to work for the American people on Day One."
The mass endorsement elevates DeSantis in the deeply red state as the Florida governor seeks to reboot his campaign and close the gap between himself and Trump. Although Trump remains a front-runner by wide margins in national polling, the former president is neck-and-neck with DeSantis in Utah.
Although Utah is reliably red — Republican presidential candidates have won the state in 17 of the last 18 elections — voters have increasingly shifted away from Trump since he left office in 2020. Several state leaders have also come out against the former president, with Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) telling CBS News earlier this month he hoped the Republican Party would move on from Trump.
“I think we have lots of amazing choices, and I’m really hopeful that we can turn the page and try something else,” he said. “Someone who can win, which I think is important, and I think any of those governors could win and I certainly hope we’ll give them a chance.”
DeSantis’s trip to the Beehive State comes as the Florida governor seeks to overcome financial struggles and lackluster growth in the polls since launching his campaign in May. The Florida governor fired roughly a dozen staffers last week, raising questions over how DeSantis will shift his strategy over the coming months.
Trump continues to lead by at least 30 points in national polling, with DeSantis the runner-up in almost every survey. An average of roughly 51% of voters say they’d back Trump compared to just 19% for DeSantis, according to data from FiveThirtyEight.