Robert F. Bukaty / AP
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a political roundtable, Friday, May 19, 2023, in Bedford, N.H.
Monday, July 24, 2023 | 1:24 p.m.
Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis’ campaign released a list of two dozen current and former officials to endorse the Florida governor as the race for the 2024 nomination heats up.
The list — released by the pro-DeSantis political action committee Never Back Down, which is chaired by longtime friend and former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt — features current elected officials like Nevada State Controller Andy Matthews, state Sen. Carrie Buck and Jeff Stone (both Henderson Republicans), as well as Assemblywomen Jill Dickman, R-Sparks, and Danielle Gallant, R-Las Vegas, along with officials from Douglas, Lincoln, Storey, Churchill and Washoe counties.
Former U.S. Rep. Crescent Hardy and former Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury were also among those to pledge support for DeSantis.
“Gov. Ron DeSantis has a proven track record of standing up against the radical left to protect our children and our freedoms,” Gallant, the co-deputy minority floor leader, said in a statement.
“While the establishment and D.C. elites empowered (Dr. Anthony) Fauci to lock our country down and let the mob run rampant, Gov. DeSantis was the only one fighting back for our kids. He stands for America’s families and conservative values and that’s why Nevadans are standing with him.”
Most notably absent from the list was Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has yet to endorse a presidential candidate, according to John Burke, a spokesman for Better Nevada, a pro-Lombardo political action committee.
Lombardo earned the backing of former President Donald Trump while on the campaign trail last year and has stood alongside Trump at rallies in Nevada.
Despite facing two pending criminal indictments and a likely third stemming from his alleged involvement in trying to maintain power after the 2020 election, Trump remains the leading candidate for the GOP’s 2024 nomination.
Trump remains ahead in virtually every poll tracked by the political database FiveThirtyEight, and held a 22% lead over DeSantis — the near-universal second behind Trump — in a JMC Analytics poll that surveyed 1,100 likely voters conducted July 18-22.
U.S. Senate hopeful Jim Marchant is among the most notable Nevada Republicans to publicly support Trump this cycle. Assemblyman Ken. Gray, R-Dayton, has also endorsed the former president.
Last month, DeSantis drew a crowd of more than 2,500 people at the Corley Ranch in Garnerville to attend Laxalt’s eighth-annual basque fry, which commemorates the legacy of Laxalt’s late grandfather, former U.S. Sen. Paul Laxalt, and featured speeches from several prominent conservatives.
“Gov. DeSantis understands the importance of working hard to earn votes and will put the American people first,” Laxalt said in a statement. “He served our country honorably before as a Navy JAG officer in Iraq, and Nevadans know he will honorably serve us again as our next president, always fighting to protect our families, fix our economy, and achieve the great American comeback.”
