Tuesday marks the primary day for Florida, where Republican front-runner Byron Donalds is set to face off against 11 other GOP challengers to secure the GOP nomination.
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But the Donald Trump-endorsed candidate still isn’t impressing some Republican voters, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and at least one Republican voter in Orlando.
DeSantis has made it clear he’s not happy with Donalds as the nominee, CNN reported, though the governor hasn’t stepped in to endorse any alternative.
In the absence of DeSantis, “Trump’s endorsement is expected to be a pretty big influence in this race, although what I’ve talked to some voters today, just outside this polling place, they said that Trump’s endorsement wasn’t actually a factor for them,” said CNN senior reporter Steve Contorno.
Contorno spoke with a voter named Randy outside of an Orlando polling place, who said that “this time” Trump’s endorsement didn’t matter.
“I think Byron Donalds is going to win. I think he’s going to make a good governor. But I had to go with my gut,” the man said.
What the man said rubbed him the wrong way was that Donalds refused to participate in a debate.
“And it just, it just bugged me,” the voter explained.
Donalds also has a substantial fundraising advantage and has led most public polls; one polling average put him at 37 percent, ahead of James Fishback at 18 percent and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins at 17 percent.
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As Politico reported Tuesday, the battle between Republicans has been contentious. “Ahead of the primary, Donalds and some other Republicans sound eager to put their battles behind them, with their campaign speeches already pivoting toward their likely November opponents.”
The report noted that Fishback still maintains he’ll win the primary, pointing to how far off polls were in the Wisconsin governor’s race.
“What I’m going to do is I am going to unite the Republican Party as the nominee,” he said. “I have never, and I will never, vote for a Democrat, and this will not be the exception.”
As ABC News pointed out, this is the first election after Florida’s mid-decade redistricting.
Rep. Cory Mills, who has been plagued with scandals and faces a House ethics investigation, is opposed in his primary by a Republican that’s drawn endorsements from two Florida House Republicans: Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos.
Mills also faces news of a judge issuing a restraining order after Mills was accused of threatening to distribute explicit photos and videos of his ex-girlfriend. Mills denies all of the allegations.
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