Former President Donald Trump endorses U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s 2022 re-election bid
Less than two weeks after becoming a front-runner for a powerful U.S. House committee, Congressman Vern Buchanan earned his first-ever endorsement from former President Donald Trump.
Congressman Vern Buchanan is a terrific representative of the people of Florida. He is working hard to lower our taxes, grow our economy, support military and vets, protect our seniors, and defend our second amendment,” Trump said in an email statement Monday evening. “Vern has my complete and total endorsement!”
Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, recently became next in line for the top spot on the Ways and Means Committee, which oversees key policies such as tariffs, tax code and healthcare.
“I am honored to have the endorsement of President Trump. I look forward to working with him to take back the House so we can put our economy back on track, get people back to work and restore America’s greatness,” Buchanan said.
With U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., stepping away from Congress in 2022, Buchanan is set to become the highest-ranking Republican on the Ways and Means Committee. If the GOP takes back the House and he wins re-election, he’s likely to become the chairman of the committee.
“As I indicated earlier this year, I will be running for the Ways and Means chairmanship, but my first priority is to help Republicans win back the U.S. House majority in 2022,” Buchanan said earlier this month.
Trump’s endorsement is a boon for Buchanan’s re-election campaign. In recent months, the seven-term congressman has been criticized by Martin Hyde, a Republican primary challenger who has argued that Buchanan isn’t conservative enough to represent Florida’s 16th Congressional District.
Buchanan also faces an election challenge in Jan Schneider, a Democrat. Both opponents have struggled to reel in the amount of money that Buchanan has raised throughout the election cycle.
While Hyde and Schneider have collected less than $80,000 in donations combined, Buchanan has raised nearly $1.2 million. Buchanan is set to face Hyde in the Republican primary in August 2022.
