Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will raise money for his presidential campaign in Alamo Heights at a Sept. 22 luncheon hosted by former U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy.
Roy, a leader in the House Freedom Caucus who has represented Texas’ 21st Congressional District since 2019, was one of the first members of Congress to throw his support behind DeSantis in March.
“His style of no-nonsense government and fearless rejection of woke ‘conventional wisdom’ has demonstrated an appeal to all of us based on our shared values as Americans,” Roy said at the time.
Smith represented Texas’ 21st Congressional District for 32 years and served in the U.S. House with DeSantis when the later was a Florida congressman from 2013 to 2018. In a statement to the San Antonio Report this week, Smith said DeSantis was “smart, fearless and right on the issues.”
“He can win the election. He can serve two terms. He’s not weighed down by political and legal baggage,” Smith said. “He can finish the jobs [former President Donald] Trump couldn’t: Secure the borders, rein in political correctness, and strengthen the military.”
DeSantis is one of eight Republicans who will share a stage in Milwaukee on Wednesday for the first GOP presidential primary debate. Trump has chosen to skip the debate.
Trump reportedly plans to plans to spend the evening at his New Jersey golf club, then turn himself in to authorities Thursday in Georgia, where he faces charges of trying to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
Still, Trump maintains some loyal supporters in Bexar County.
Jeff McManus, who chairs the Republican Party of Bexar County, said Tuesday that he wouldn’t attend the upcoming DeSantis fundraiser out of loyalty to the former president.
“I’m still a Trump person,” McManus said. “I really believe we need a leader like that in our country right now. We need to take on the establishment.”
On Wednesday, McManus said he now plans to attend the event after all, though he still supports Trump.
One local candidate, former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, did not qualify for the debate because he fell short of the polling requirements and refused to pledge his support for the eventual Republican nominee. Hurd represented Texas’ 23rd Congressional District from 2015 to 2021.
Two other Republican presidential hopefuls, former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, have also held campaign events in San Antonio. Pence was in town marketing his new book at Cornerstone Church in January, while Haley was raising money here this spring.
