Gus Bilirakis lands coveted endorsement from Donald Trump
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'Gus Bilirakis was an early Endorser of our Campaign for President, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement!'

Former President Donald Trump has made it official: He’s backing U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis for re-election to Florida’s 12th Congressional District.

The former President and current presumptive GOP nominee for the third time had already tacitly offered his support, appearing with Bilirakis at a high-dollar fundraiser.

If that wasn’t enough to get the point across, he’s now made it crystal clear.

“Congressman Gus Bilirakis is a very effective lawmaker for the people of Florida’s 12th Congressional District! Our America First Movement needs Leaders like Gus, who Fight to Secure the Border, Stop Illegal Immigration, and Protect and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment. Gus Bilirakis was an early Endorser of our Campaign for President, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump posted to his now-publicly traded Truth Social.

Bilirakis has long supported Trump, so it’s no wonder the former President is offering his star power. Bilirakis endorsed Trump for President in April 2023, before Trump announced his bid officially.

The same month, Bilirakis issued a statement supporting Trump and attacking a “weaponized” Department of Justice when the former President was arraigned in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records, a trial that is ongoing.

Trump was a headliner at a fundraiser for Bilirakis in late November where he posed for photos with Bilirakis and supporters and delivered remarks at the fundraising reception Nov. 20 at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach.

This isn’t the first time Trump has weighed in for Bilirakis. He did the longtime Congressman a solid, offering his endorsement in January 2022, ahead of the Midterm Elections.

Bilirakis supported Trump’s false contention that the 2020 Presidential Election was stolen, citing at the time “multiple reports of voter irregularities and what some feel are unconstitutional changes to various states’ mail-in voting procedures.” He also supported a Texas lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to intervene in the election, according to Bloomberg.

Since winning his seat in Washington in 2006, succeeding father and former U.S. Rep. Mike Bilirakis, Gus Bilirakis has focused on bread-and-butter issues that impact his constituents’ lives.

In particular, Bilirakis has fought alongside Democrats and Republicans in the region on behalf of area veterans. He celebrated some of that progress earlier this year at the ribbon-cutting for the new James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital bed tower in Tampa. He shared the stage with a Democrat in Tampa Bay’s congressional delegation.

The Center for Effective Lawmaking last year rated Bilirakis the most effective Republican member of the House among the Florida delegation. The Lugar Center, which tracks how often lawmakers work together across the aisle, scored Bilirakis as the most bipartisan member of Florida’s congressional delegation in the last Congress. He was the 27th highest scoring member nationwide in the 435-member chamber.

Trump’s continued support builds on strong conservative backing he’s already received this election cycle, including nods from U.S. Reps. Jim Jordan and Byron Donalds.

Bilirakis faces two Republicans in the Primary, according to campaign documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. James Judge, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, has filed for the seat after running unsuccessfully against U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor in neighboring Florida’s 14th Congressional District two years ago. So has Harry “Hank” William Dunlap, who has raised just $100. Judge isn’t much further along in the fundraising game, with less than $8,000 banked as of the most recent filings. Bilirakis, meanwhile, has raised more than $840,000.

Janelle Irwin Taylor

Janelle Irwin Taylor has been a professional journalist covering local news and politics in Tampa Bay since 2003. Most recently, Janelle reported for the Tampa Bay Business Journal. She formerly served as senior reporter for WMNF News. Janelle has a lust for politics and policy. When she’s not bringing you the day’s news, you might find Janelle enjoying nature with her husband, children and two dogs. You can reach Janelle at [email protected].


10 comments

  • arizona

    March 28, 2024 at 4:37 pm

    reporting for duty to teach byron donalds how to give a proper nod.

  • arizona

    March 28, 2024 at 4:57 pm

    i will disclose, however, i do not find the way they did it particularly advisable !

  • arizona

    March 28, 2024 at 4:59 pm

    not in regards to the nod, but rather the gag in which i will now demonstrate………………….

  • arizona

    March 28, 2024 at 5:08 pm

    here it is !

    HAHAH~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    keep going……………………..keep going………………………

    • rick whitaker

      March 28, 2024 at 8:04 pm

      i commonly say ” florida is a hell hole “, and gus bilirakis is one of the reasons why.

      • arizona

        March 29, 2024 at 8:19 am

        I truly have no idea who gus is.

        But byron knows exactly who I am.

        So I thought I’d drop you a line and let you know how well I’m doing

        • arizona

          March 29, 2024 at 8:28 am

          The politicians who defend trump turn out to be absolute hippocrites because they themselves do to people what they play victim of

          If this mornings CNN documentary on donalds is not enough of a dissuassive on hippocritisim, let me know, I gochu

  • arizona

    March 28, 2024 at 5:11 pm

    dont stop until i actually————————–

  • arizona

    March 29, 2024 at 8:46 am

    Let me know

    If you EVER want a little refresher

    On the hippocritical cabal which conserves the power of Trump and Donalds

    XO

  • arizona

    March 29, 2024 at 8:49 am

    I’ll wait for it …………

Comments are closed.


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