Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Florida’s lieutenant governor is headed to Israel.
Carlos Lopez-Cantera is traveling to Israel this week as part of the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association delegation. The trip is meant to develop existing relationships, as well as promote new partnerships.
“The United States’ relationship with Israel is critical, and I am traveling there to gain a firsthand appreciation for the security challenges they face and hearing firsthand how the United States can and will stand with Israel in facing those challenges,” Lopez-Cantera said in a prepared statement released by his U.S. Senate campaign Monday.
Lopez-Cantera is one of five Republicans vying for his party’s nomination in the race to replace Sen. Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate. He’ll face Rep. David Jolly, Rep. Ron DeSantis, Todd Wilcox, and Carlos Beruff in the Aug. 30 primary.
Jolly traveled to Israel in late March. The Pinellas County Republican was part of a contingent of lawmakers who met with the region’s leaders to talk about national security.
The Republican Lieutenant Governors Association delegation’s trip is sponsored by the State Government Leadership Foundation. The delegation, according to Lopez-Cantera’s campaign, is also expected to take part in economic development meetings unique to Florida.
“It is important we make sure our relationship with Israel, our greatest ally, is at its strongest,” said Lopez-Cantera in a statement. “Israel is the only free democracy in the Middle East, and we must reverse the trend that this president has started in weakening that relationship.”
