July 6 (UPI) — The Florida Republican Party will require GOP presidential candidates to sign a loyalty pledge to get on the state’s March 19 primary ballot.
The candidates must pledge to support the 2024 GOP nominee and must not run as a third-party candidate. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly hinted that he might not support the nominee if it is not him, and he has suggested he could run as a third-party candidate.
“Contested primaries are part of the process, but we must always remember that the Democrats are the true threat to the America we love, and we must be unified to defeat every single one of them,” Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler told the Tallahassee Democrat.
The Republican National Committee also has required potential nominees to sign a loyalty pledge in order to qualify for the party’s first presidential debate next month.
According to CNN, former Rep. Will Hurd, who is running for the GOP nomination, has already said that he will not sign Florida’s loyalty pledge.
“The issue is not with me supporting a Republican nominee. The issue is I am not going to support Donald Trump,” Hurd told CNN on Thursday.
Ziegler said that the pledge was to prevent disloyal Republicans from using the party’s resources.
“The days of outlier party grifters — such as Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger — using Republican Party resources to secure a title and then weaponize that title against our own team must end,” Ziegler said.
