The Republican Party of Florida will stay “neutral” and allow the grassroots to choose their ideal nominee for 2024 — particularly in the light of the battle between former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — Florida GOP chairman Christian Ziegler told Breitbart News Saturday.
Ziegler, who recently won his election elevating him to the chairmanship position, explained that he has a great relationship with both Trump and DeSantis, praising each of the two leaders.
“President Trump was one of the greatest presidents we’ve ever had, if not the greatest. I mean, he really laid the foundation,” he said, explaining that Trump paved the way for many more “true fighters” to join the effort.
“We have a lot of Republicans that are running for office that are like true fighters that we didn’t have before. And that’s because of his leadership, his tone, his focus and his style, and people started realizing that the American people want to see leaders that are willing to fight,” he said, explaining that DeSantis, who has yet to reveal his 2024 intentions, is possibly one of the greatest governors in the history of the country.
“Governor DeSantis he has not announced that he’s running for president yet. I mean, we’ll see if he does or not, but I don’t know if there’s been a better governor in the history of this country than Governor Ron DeSantis, and he’s really going after these issues every single day fighting for us, so I do have a great relationship with both men,” he said, revealing the Florida GOP’s strategy moving forward. Ultimately, he said, the Florida GOP will support both men and allow the grassroots to determine who they want to be their nominee.
“We’re going to support both men. We’re going to stay neutral. And we’re going to allow the grassroots to pick and then whoever they pick, we’re gonna make sure they get elected, whether it’s President Trump [or] Governor DeSantis. We’re going to let the grassroots pick. We’re going to work like hell to get them elected afterwards,” Ziegler said, emphasizing that they will go all-in for whoever the nominee is after the primary is completed.
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He added further perspective, recalling the crowded GOP field in 2016, which included the likes of Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio in the mix. That year, the grassroots in Florida overwhelmingly came out for Trump. However, if the Florida GOP had gone all-in for one of those other candidates during the primary, it would have resulted in a major disconnect with voters, who chose Trump.
“And if the party were to get involved back in 2016, I promise you it probably would have been for one of them [Bush or Rubio]. And we saw the grassroots — 66 out of 67 counties in Florida — went with Trump. So there would have been a big disconnect. That’s why I’m a fan of the party staying neutral,” he said, explaining that the party will be ready the “moment” after the primary to go to battle for the nominee.
“And that’s what we’re going to do in Florida,” he said, promising that he is setting that tone as chairman.
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do, but we’re going to support both men up until that primary is over, and then we’re gonna get to work,” he added.
Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
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