A trio of conservative House Republicans has broken with former President Donald Trump to endorse others for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, a small but notable fracture in what has been a conference in virtual lockstep behind Mr. Trump.
Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina endorsed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who launched her campaign on Feb. 14.
Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Chip Roy of Texas threw their support behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is a top rival to Mr. Trump but has not yet officially joined the race.
Mr. Roy predicted that more of his colleagues will soon join him in backing Mr. DeSantis.
“Most members are probably going to be waiting for a formal announcement, but I’ve known him for a good long time and respect him a great deal,” Mr. Roy told The Washington Times. “And I wanted to make sure that people know where I am on that. I think I’ve delivered my message on that.”
He said he wants someone who can serve for eight years and can unite the country, implying that Mr. Trump is unable to do so.
Mr. Trump, having already served one term, would be term-limited to four years.
SEE ALSO: With Trump case, Democrats open door to age of ‘revenge politics’
Mr. Roy said the Florida governor proved his strength at the ballot box with his landslide reelection last year.
“He won 62% of the Hispanic vote, 50% of single females and won by a million-and-a-half votes,” the congressman said. “I think there’s a lot of members who are interested and I think it’ll be an interesting few months as it sort of all unfolds.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Trump retains solid and vocal in the House Republican Conference. His support is particularly strong among members of the Freedom Caucus, where he is backed by Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Eli Crane of Arizona, Byron Donalds of Florida, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Mary Miller of Illinois, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, Barry Moore of Alabama and Troy Nehls of Texas.
Mr. Massie endorsed Mr. DeSantis a day after Mr. Trump was arraigned at a New York courthouse and pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments in 2016 to adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
“America needs a leader who is decisive, respects the Constitution, understands policy, puts family first and leads by inspiring,” Mr. Massie said when announcing his support for Mr. DeSantis.
Mr. Norman said it was time for a change when he announced his endorsement of Mrs. Haley, who also served in the Trump administration as ambassador to the U.N.
“It’s time for a reset and a new chapter in national Republican politics, and there’s no better person to help write that new chapter than our former governor and my good friend, Nikki Haley,” he tweeted.
Mr. Trump remains the undisputed front-runner for the nomination. In national polls, he consistently leads Mr. DeSantis by more than 30 points.
Mr. DeSantis is running a distant second to Mr. Trump with roughly 25% of Republican support. The rest of the announced and potential GOP candidates are polling in single digits.
The former president declared his candidacy for the White House in November. His legal tangling with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has made him more popular with Republicans. Polls show a bump for Mr. Trump since the indictment.
Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis perform about the same in hypothetical matchups against Mr. Biden in a recent Rasmussen Reports survey. Mr. DeSantis defeats Mr. Biden 46% to 38%. Mr. Trump defeats Mr. Biden 47% to 40%.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.