Florida GOP mandates loyalty pledge for 2024 candidates in crucial primary.

Ryan MorganJuly 6, 2023

Florida Republican Party Imposes Loyalty Pledge for 2024 Presidential Candidates

The Florida Republican Party has introduced a new requirement for candidates vying for the 2024 presidential nomination. In order to secure a spot on the Florida Republican primary ballot, candidates must pledge their support to the eventual 2024 Republican Party nominee.

During their mid-May meeting, the Florida Republican Party Executive Committee made significant changes to their primary procedures, including the adoption of this loyalty pledge. However, these rule changes were not widely known until recently, as reported by Politico.

The candidate loyalty pledge states:

“I affirm that if I do not win the 2024 Republican nomination for President of the United States, I will endorse the 2024 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is. I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent, non-party affiliated, or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party.”

This new rule could have significant implications in the Republican primary field, where former President Donald Trump currently maintains a consistent lead in national opinion polls.

It is worth noting that the Republican National Committee had previously announced a similar loyalty pledge requirement in February, which candidates must fulfill to qualify for the first primary debate.

Florida Republican Party Vice Chair Evan Power explained that the party chose to implement the loyalty pledge rule to align with the existing RNC debate requirement. He stated,

“We were trying to be consistent with what the debate was requiring,”

and assured that campaigns were duly informed of these changes.

While former President Trump had expressed hesitance in signing a loyalty pledge or participating in the RNC debates, the loyalty pledge for the Florida Republican primary holds greater significance. This is because Florida’s primary operates on a winner-take-all system, offering 125 delegates to the victorious candidate.

With an estimated total of 2,467 delegates up for grabs in the 2024 Republican primary process, Florida’s 125 delegates could provide any candidate with approximately one-tenth of the delegates needed to secure a majority of 1,276 delegates and win the contest.