He Republican Party of Florida will require Republican presidential candidates to sign a loyalty pledge to participate in the state’s March 19, 2024 primary ballot.
Candidates must pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee for president in the 2024 election and they should not run as a third-party candidate, according to CNN.
The top two contenders in the party’s polls, former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, are both Floridians, and their hopes of winning the nomination could hinge on the massive 125 delegates that will be awarded to the victor there.
Three Floridians have entered the 2024 Republican race: In addition to DeSantis and Trump, who moved his official residence to the Sunshine State while in the White House, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez launched a longshot on the nomination last month.
The new pledge in Florida is similar to a Republican National Committee (RNC) requirement to qualify for next month’s first presidential debate, under which participants must sign a pledge “agreeing to support the party’s eventual nominee.”
Several other candidates were also angered by signing the RNC pledge, and Trump and DeSantis have dodged questions about whether they would commit to endorsing the other if that person wins the party’s nomination.
At least one candidate, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, has already said he will not sign the Florida pledge, even if that decision excludes him from the state’s ballot.
Florida Republican Party Requirements
To qualify for Florida’s Republican primary ballot, candidates will have until November 22 to submit a signed and notarized pledge to “endorse the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, regardless of who they are.”
The oath also states that candidates “shall not seek to run as independent, unaffiliated, or write-in candidates” and will not “seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party,” per the Florida Republican Party Rules of Procedure. , which recently filed with the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections.
The state party also seeks to take the 2024 candidates to the “Florida Freedom Summit.” in November. Those who attend will be required to pay a filing fee of $25,000 to be on the March 19 ballot, those who do not attend the summit will be required to pay $100,000. Election campaigns can waive the filing fee entirely by gathering signatures, though the threshold has increased from 3,375 Florida Republicans in the 2016 election to 56,000 for the 2024 election.
Politico was first to report on the Florida Republican Party’s new oath requirement.
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Source: La Opinion
