Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suffered a string of inconvenient setbacks yesterday.
The governor's eleventh-hour endorsement of former U.N. Ambassador Kelly Craft in the Kentucky Republican gubernatorial primary failed to dampen enthusiasm for state Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
Cameron, 37, rode an endorsement by former President Donald Trump to victory Tuesday night. With 95% of the vote, Cameron leads his closest competitor by 26 percentage points. Craft is poised to finish third.
Should Cameron defeat incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear in November, he will become the nation's first Black Republican governor.
In Jacksonville, DeSantis' candidate lost the coveted runoff election for mayor. Although GOP candidates won a majority of the vote in the March election, none crossed the threshold necessary to avoid Tuesday's runoff.
Former local news anchor Donna Deegan (D) faced off against Daniel Davis (R), the head of the city's chamber of commerce.
Deegan is only the second Democrat in the last 30 years to be elected mayor of Florida's largest city. Business-friendly Republicans have dominated local politics for decades.
Observers considered Davis the likely favorite, having outraised Deegan four-to-one. However, he campaigned in increasingly competitive Duval County on divisive social and cultural issues. DeSantis' endorsement did not come until last Friday. News outlets described it as “lukewarm.”
The victory gives Florida Democrats hope in an increasingly red state.
Trump wasted little time highlighting DeSantis' endorsement record.
As Politico reports:
“[Daniel Cameron] had my Complete and Total Endorsement. The DeSanctimonious backed candidate came in a DISTANT third. Ron's magic is GONE! He also lost, shockingly, in Jacksonville last night (Mayor),” Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday.
Cameron, who earned Trump's endorsement early on, won the Republican nomination for Kentucky governor Tuesday night. DeSantis endorsed Kelly Craft, who looked likely to finish third in the GOP primary.
The attacks against DeSantis come as the Florida governor is readying a possible bid for the GOP presidential nomination against Trump. In a recent Morning Consult poll, 61 percent of surveyed potential GOP primary voters said they'd back Trump in 2024, with 18 percent for DeSantis.
DeSantis' pick for Jacksonville mayor also lost Tuesday night when Democrat Donna Deegan defeated Republican Daniel Davis.
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OK maybe run in 2028??
P.B.S. Pinchback was actually the first Black Republican governor.
Endorsements mean very little. I would never vote for or against a candidate based on his or her endorsements. I honesty don’t care what another candidate or elected official thinks of someone – I’ll make my own evaluation and draw my own conclusions.
It’s just a city mayor. I lived in Jacksonville for a while in the 80’s when I was stationed in Mayport. It’s no big deal and did you see Donna Deegan? I’m a person who has never voted for a democrat in my life and I would vote for her. I bet she is the only decent looking democrat on the planet.
Yeah, let’s just stab each other in the back or in the face and let a pretty-bird DemoCreep steal the show. It’s time for some serious adulting here, candidates!