JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gov. DeSantis endorsed Republican candidate Daniel Davis for Jacksonville mayor, who then lost the election. DeSantis also unexpectedly tapped Kelly Craft, a candidate in the Kentucky GOP gubernatorial race. She also lost.
Davis lost to Democrat Donna Deegan after a tight race. Losing the mayoral race will be seen as a major blow as Jacksonville was the largest city in the country with a Republican mayor, as reported by Newsweek. Jacksonville has around one million residents.
This is not the first time that DeSantis has endorsed candidates who have failed to bring it home. Former President Donald Trump was quick to point this out in a social media post.
"Wow! In a big upset, the DeSanctimonious backed Republican candidate for Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, LOST. This is a shocker. If they would have asked me to Endorse, he would have won, easily. Too proud to do so. Fools! This is a BIG LOSS for the Republican Party. Remember, “Rob” only won because of me!!!"
Trump posted the jab on Truth Social, a platform created by his own media company that identifies itself as place for free speech.
In 2022, Trump endorsed more than 250 candidates with an 82% success rate. However, the majority of his endorsements were favorites to win, as reported by The New York Times.
List of DeSantis' flopped endorsements:
U.S. Senate:
Mehmet Oz - Pennsylvania
Joe O'Dea - Colorado
Don Bolduc - New Hampshire
Blake Masters - Arizona
Herschel Walker - Georgia run-off
Adam Laxalt - Nevada
Gubernatorial:
Kelly Craft - Kentucky
Tim Michels - Wisconsin
Mark Ronchetti - New Mexico
Paul LePage - Maine
Doug Mastriano - Pennsylvania
Kari Lake - Arizona
Lee Zeldin - New York
Derek Schmidt - Kansas
Mayoral:
Daniel Davis - Jacksonville, Florida
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair:
Harmeet Dhillon