Florida Gov. Rick Scott endorses Donald Trump for president

Florida governor endorses the state primary winner.

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 16 March 2016

Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced Wednesday that he will be throwing his support behind Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in the presidential race. The announcement comes just a day after Trump swept the Sunshine State's primary, defeating Sen. Marco Rubio in his home state and prompting the Florida senator to drop out of the race.

"With his victories yesterday, I believe it is now time for Republicans to accept and respect the will of the voters and coalesce behind Donald Trump," Scott wrote in a Facebook post, pointing out that the voters clearly "want a businessman outsider."

While Scott had previously hinted at his support for Trump in a January op-ed, he shied away from making an endorsement while "two of Florida's favorite sons," Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, were still in the running. But with the field winnowed, Scott says it's time for Republicans to unite. "If we spend another four months tearing each other apart, we will damage our ability to win in November," he said. "It's time for us to begin coming together, we've had a vigorous primary, now let's get serious about winning in November."