House Republican Juan Porras (R-Miami) praised President Donald Trump on Thursday for endorsing Florida Congressman Byron Donalds for governor.
Pretty common for an endorsement, right? Except Juan Porras also jabbed at Florida's current governor in the process.
Rep. Porras has had some "beef" with Gov. Ron DeSantis in the past. Last August, he blasted the governor for a plan to construct golf courses on state parks.
"There is no confusion here, FL has more than enough golf courses. I stand with the rest of my colleagues in the FL Legislature opposing this horrible idea to put them in our state parks," Rep. Porras said.
Other Republican officials lambasted the idea as well.
Porras' remarks come after President Donald Trump endorsed Byron Donalds' potential run for Florida Governor on Thursday.
“Byron Donalds would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida and, should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN,” Trump said.
Donalds also has indicated he will be making an announcement, possibly at running for governor, soon.
Porras meanwhile represents HD 119 which covers part of Miami-Dade County. Trump carried Miami-Dade by 11.5 points over Vice President Kamala Harris in the general election last November.
Also on election day, Porras defeated Democratic candidate Marcos Reyes by a whopping 30 points in HD 119.
Notably, DeSantis defeated Democratic candidate Charlie Crist in Miami-Dade by 11 points in his re-election bid for governor in 2022. Since DeSantis assumed office in 2019, Republicans have expanded their power in the Legislature, including in Porras' House and the Senate.
Republicans have also grown in terms of registered voters since DeSantis took office. Some might argue DeSantis has helped the Florida GOP (and Trump) put election victories on the scoreboard during that time.
Or Trump has helped DeSantis. By the way, does anybody where Adam Putnam is right now?
Porras might be right, and DeSantis' power could be fading away like a Florida sunset. Or will he ride his popularity enough through the term and into the 2028 presidential race?
Time will tell.
