Kathleen Passidomo follows Ron DeSantis’ lead and endorses Donald Trump

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said she had no intention of giving trans-stifling ID bills play in the chamber. Image via Florida Politics.

Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo followed Gov. Ron DeSantis’ lead and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

The Naples Republican had been an early supporter of DeSantis’ presidential campaign.

“America’s Governor Ron DeSantis is an exceptional leader, and he has a bright future leading our state and, one day, our nation,” she said. “I was proud to support his campaign and share with voters his incredible record of success here in the free state of Florida.”

Passidomo suggested firmly that she believed DeSantis could be a viable candidate for President in 2028. But within hours of DeSantis suspending his presidential campaign, she shifted her support to the GOP front-runner.

She followed DeSantis’ lead on that, as the Governor announced his support for Trump in the same video where he announced his own departure from the trail.

Passidomo also joined Florida House Speaker Paul Renner in immediately shifting allegiance from DeSantis to Trump.

“As we head toward November, the stakes are very high,” she said. “Our party must unite and work together. I am proud to stand with Gov. Ron DeSantis and Speaker Paul Renner to endorse President Donald Trump.”

That’s a full circle moment, as both Passidomo and Renner jointly announced endorsements for DeSantis immediately before the Florida Governor entered the 2024 contest.

That came after the legislative leaders had worked together on a potential fix to Florida’s resign-to-run law. A change to the statute last year made clear DeSantis could run for President without submitting his resignation as Governor of Florida.

Of course, DeSantis’ departure from the presidential field also means an immediate change in dynamic within Florida, two weeks into the regular Legislative Session. DeSantis has spent much of the year on the campaign trail but will not return to Tallahassee and, expectedly, will play a greater role in The Process, working with Passidomo and Renner on state matters.