In late April, New Hampshire Republican state representative Juliet Harvey-Bolia was one of the dozens of elected officials whose positions former President Donald Trump announced to a crowd in Manchester.
On Tuesday (May 16), representatives of Never Back Down, a super PAC that supports Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, explained Harvey-Bolia is backing the Florida Governor over Trump.
Harvey-Bolia is one of four New Hampshire Republican lawmakers — the other GOP Representatives are Brian Cole, Lisa Smart, and Debra DiSimone — who Never Back Down revealed had flipped from Trump to DeSantis as the PAC rolled out 51 endorsements from New Hampshire Republican lawmakers, pledging to back DeSantis.
But Harvey-Bolia doesn’t see it that way.
In a phone interview with NBC News, Harvey-Bolia explained she is “endorsing both.”
Harvey-Bolia suggested, “DeSantis has a lot of promise for the future,” adding that Trump is great right now.
However, Smart, one of the three other Legislators that Never Back Down suggested had flipped to DeSantis from Trump, also said Tuesday she would be sticking with Trump, reducing DeSantis’ total to 50 state lawmakers.
Smart’s support for Trump was revealed through a statement to NBC News by Trump’s campaign.
The statement also explained the dismay Smart felt that the PAC was playing games, adding, “I will NOT be participating in any activities with Ron DeSantis.
The unusual double endorsement and Smart’s repeating her support for the former President have added interesting twists to DeSantis’ efforts to build momentum as his official bid nears.
Last week, the DeSantis-supporting super PAC revealed the positions of 37 Iowa lawmakers shortly before he began a three-city tour of the state.
According to reports, DeSantis will announce his official campaign launch on May 25, with NBC News confirming that it had invited its top donors to meetings in Miami for a May 25 campaign launch.
DeSantis’ team is expecting more than 100 donors and other supporters to attend the briefing with him and his senior team.
