PORT ST. LUCIE— Gov. Ron DeSantis and other local and statewide Republican officials will be at Tradition Town Hall Saturday for the governor’s “Don’t Tread on Florida” tour.
Some 2,000 people are expected to attend, officials said.
The free event is one of 13 stops across the state DeSantis is making through Monday, leading up to Tuesday’s election.
“It will be a fantastic afternoon of freedom and patriotism at a time when we review how Florida has become a leader of the United States both economically as well as in terms of individual freedoms,” said state Rep. Toby Overdorf, R-Palm City, who helped organize the rally.
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Doors at Tradition Town Hall, 10799 S.W. Civic Lane, open at 2:30, two hours prior to the start of the event.
Make reservations online at https://bit.ly/3DuT8U4
With DeSantis will be first lady Casey DeSantis; Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez; Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody; state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis; state Sen. Wilton Simpson, candidate for agriculture commissioner; and other officials, according to a news release.
Country music singer Parker McCollum, 2022 Country Music Association nominee for New Artist of the Year, will perform.
All Treasure Coast Republican parties and the Okeechobee County chapter have been invited, said Kenny Nail, chairman of the St. Lucie County Republican Party.
Getting DeSantis to stop here has been a four-month-long process, according to Nail.
“St. Lucie is the bellwether county in Florida,… so there’s no reason for the governor not to stop by,” Nail said.
The tour stop here will be DeSantis’ second visit to St. Lucie County in 12 days. It’s just one week after DeSantis and Democrat challenger Charlie Crist took the stage at Fort Pierce’s Sunrise Theatre for the campaign’s only gubernatorial debate.
Seeing residents interact with statewide leaders, as well as others who could potentially take office after the election, is what Overdorf said he’s looking forward to the most.
“I can’t even tell you how great it is for our region here,” Overdorf said. “This will really put St. Lucie County and the Treasure Coast on the map for campaign stops.”
Olivia McKelvey is TCPalm’s watchdog reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach her at olivia.mckelvey@tcpalm.com, 772-521-4380 and on Twitter @olivia_mckelvey.