Barely 24 hours until the votes are counted, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi threw her support to businessman Donald Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
Bondi, who received national attention for leading a coalition of state attorneys general in an unsuccessful constitutional challenge to President Barack Obama’s federal health-care law, appeared with Trump at an event in her home base of Tampa on Monday afternoon.
“It is my great honor to receive the endorsement from a leader as highly respected as Attorney General Pam Bondi,” Trump said. “I love the people of Florida, where over the years, I have invested my time, hundreds of millions of dollars and employed thousands of people. Pam is one of the many individuals I have formed a great relationship with and I am very proud to receive her support.”
“People today are looking for leadership, the kind that Mr. Trump offers, that’s unafraid to tell it like it is and will do something about renewing America’s strength and greatness,” Bondi said. “That’s why I am pleased to announce my support of Donald Trump for president. We have been friends for years, and I know his family personally. I’ve seen first-hand how he leads, and how he cares deeply about the people of this country. If elected president I know he will bring America’s best minds together to preserve what we have, and secure what we need, for the future.”
Trump holds the lead in Florida according the polls as the candidates maneuver to claim the 99 delegates on the line in the Sunshine State. Whoever wins Florida on Tuesday will get all the delegates. Most polls show Trump with a double digits lead over U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in Florida with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in third and Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, in fourth.
First elected to her current post in 2010, Bondi is the former chair of the Republican Attorneys General Association. In backing Trump, Bondi becomes the most prominent office holder in Florida to support his candidacy.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
