As the race for the GOP presidential primaries takes off, Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) has some advice for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“My advice is don’t try to outdo Donald Trump,” Buck said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” when asked if he had any advice for his former House colleague.
“There’s nobody who…really operates in the same field as Donald Trump, and I think Ron DeSantis has a solid record of accomplishment in Florida when he was dealing with Covid and some other areas, and I think that’s are the things he should keep running,” Buck said.
DeSantis launched his highly anticipated campaign last month and has since been on a whirlwind tour of several key states, ranging from Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina. The Republican governor has largely avoided direct jabs at Trump, opting instead for veiled jabs at the “culture of defeat” that he says has cast a shadow over the Republican Party in recent elections, including the midterm elections. -mandate of 2022.
Although DeSantis is probing above other GOP hopefuls, he’s still well behind the former president, and the growing field could threaten to dilute his support. Nine candidates have already registered and at least three more are expected to join the race in the coming days.
Although Buck was willing to offer his advice on Sunday, he wasn’t ready to give DeSantis his full support.
“I didn’t endorse Ron DeSantis, and I would go to events for Nikki Haley or Tim Scott or other friends,” Buck said. “But I think he, Ron, should do his best to run on his strong record as governor.”