DeSantis’ look with Mastriano comes 5 days after he campaigned on behalf of Kari Lake, the GOP nominee for Arizona governor, who made repeated false claims concerning the 2020 election the centerpiece of her marketing campaign.
The candidates DeSantis is stumping for, together with J.D. Vance in Ohio, have all been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
“His entire political lens is a calculation of what it means for overtaking Trump,” mentioned David Jolly, the previous Florida Republican congressman who is now serving to begin a 3rd political social gathering. “His previous eschewing of 2020 election fraud is less about personal conviction and more about not strengthening Trump. Similarly, his rallying with Lake, Mastriano, and others is about elevating his national profile on par with Trump — demonstrating his strength as a formidable heir to the GOP presidential nomination.”
The governor’s determination to assist out a number of GOP nominees in different states comes throughout a relative gradual interval for his personal reelection marketing campaign, nevertheless it has added to ongoing hypothesis that he’ll run for president in 2024. The states the place DeSantis has or will marketing campaign embrace the important thing battleground states that will likely be important if he mounts a White House bid.
Unlike Lake and Mastriano, nevertheless, DeSantis has averted repeating or amplifying unproven allegations of voter fraud whilst Trump — a part-time Florida resident — has continued to dispute the 2020 election outcomes.
When requested by reporters whether or not the final presidential election was rigged, DeSantis has as an alternative highlighted modifications to election legal guidelines he has supported or just modified the subject.
“I’ve been asked that a hundred different times. Anyone have a question on the topic of the day?” DeSantis mentioned throughout a mid-June press convention. He then went on to criticize the Jan. 6 hearings that have been being held on the time. DeSantis, nevertheless, condemned the Jan. 6 insurrection within the rapid aftermath of the riot.
DeSantis has additionally rejected calls to do a statewide forensic audit of the 2020 leads to Florida, asserting that there was no want and that the election went easily in a state that delivered a win for Trump.
The DeSantis reelection marketing campaign didn’t reply to questions concerning the governor’s determination to hitch Mastriano on Friday. The Mastriano marketing campaign additionally didn’t reply. One GOP guide acquainted with DeSantis’s considering, nevertheless, mentioned the choice to marketing campaign for fellow Republicans was “for the good of the country.” The guide mentioned that DeSantis desires to assist regain management of the U.S. Senate and cease Biden’s agenda with the assistance of fellow Republicans in governor’s mansions throughout the nation. The guide identified that DeSantis waited till after the primaries to marketing campaign for them, and it was finally voters who picked candidates akin to Lake and Mastriano.
“He knows he has a brand that can cross over to independents and some Democrats,” the guide mentioned. “They are on our team and we need them to win.”
The Florida Democratic Party Jewish Caucus Board referred to as on DeSantis to cancel his occasion with Mastriano, citing his ties to the far-right social media community Gab. Mastriano paid $5,000 to the positioning, which is the place Robert Bowers made antisemitic posts earlier than the lethal mass taking pictures at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue. Mastriano additionally participated in an interview with Gab CEO Andrew Torba, the place he informed him, “Thank God for what you’ve done.”
Will Simons, a spokesperson for Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania legal professional normal and Democrat operating towards Mastriano, mentioned “DeSantis is holding a rally with the most extreme gubernatorial candidate in the country, one who has been condemned by Republicans and Democrats alike for his dangerous antisemitism … and DeSantis still wants to elevate him in a vain attempt to jump-start his presidential campaign.”
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, one of many Democrats difficult DeSantis this 12 months, additionally blasted the governor for standing on stage with “election deniers” and other people who are “antisemitic” whereas there’s a disaster in Florida over inexpensive housing, amongst different points.
“What he’s doing right now is a reason why he’s going to lose in November,” mentioned Fried, who is Jewish. “He’s off campaigning for other people across the country because he’s running for 2024.”
