A trio of conservative House Republicans has broken with former President Donald Trump to endorse others for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, a small but notable fracture in what has been a conference in virtual lockstep behind Mr. Trump.
Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Chip Roy of Texas threw their support behind Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, who is a top rival to Mr. Trump but has not yet officially joined the race.
Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina endorsed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who launched her campaign on Feb. 14.
Mr. Roy predicted that more of his colleagues will soon join him in backing Mr. DeSantis.
“Most members are probably going to be waiting for a formal announcement, but I’ve known him for a good long time and respect him a great deal,” Mr. Roy told The Washington Times. “And I wanted to make sure that people know where I am on that. I think I’ve delivered my message on that.”
He said he wants someone who can serve for 8 years and can unite the country, implying that Mr. Trump can’t unite the country.
Mr. Trump, having already served one term, would be term-limited to 4 more years in the White House.
Mr. Roy said the Florida governor proved his strength at the ballot box with his landslide reelection last year.
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“He won 62% of the Hispanic vote, fifty percent of single females and won by a million and a half votes,” the congressman said. “I think there’s a lot of members who are interested and I think it’ll be an interesting few months as it sort of all unfolds.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Trump retains solid and vocal in the House Republican Conference. His support is particularly strong among members of the Freedom Caucus, where he is backed by Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Eli Crane of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Byron Donalds of Florida, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Mary Miller of Illinois, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Troy Nehls of Texas, Barry Moore of Alabama and Alex Mooney of West Virginia.
Mr. Massie endorsed Mr. DeSantis a day after Mr. Trump was arraigned at a New York courthouse and pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments in 2016 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.
“America needs a leader who is decisive, respects the Constitution, understands policy, puts family first and leads by inspiring,” Mr. Massie said when announcing his support for Mr. DeSantis.
Mr. Norman said it was time for a change when he announced his endorsement of Ms. Haley, who also served in the Trump administration as ambassador to the U.N.
“It’s time for a reset and a new chapter in national Republican politics, and there’s no better person to help write that new chapter than our former governor and my good friend, Nikki Haley,” he said on Twitter.
Mr. Trump remains the undisputed frontrunner for the nomination. In national polls, he consistently leads Mr. DeSantis by more than 30 points.
Mr. DeSantis is running a distant second to Mr. Trump with roughly 25% of Republican support. The rest of the announced and potential GOP candidates are polling in single digits.
The former president declared his candidacy for the White House in November. His legal tangling with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has made him more popular with Republicans. Polls show a bump for Mr. Trump since the indictment.
Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis perform about the same in hypothetical matchups against Mr. Biden in a recent Rasmussen Reports survey. Mr. DeSantis defeats Mr. Biden 46% to 38%. Mr. Trump defeats Mr. Biden 47% to 40%.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.