Former President Donald Trump’s campaign has tapped a longtime political operative who consulted for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) during his run for Congress in 2012 to lead its Florida effort for the 2024 election.
Brian Hughes will take over the position of Florida director for the Trump campaign, Florida Politics first reported and confirmed with Hughes on Friday. Besides working for DeSantis more than a decade ago, Hughes has not worked with the Florida governor on his gubernatorial or presidential campaigns.
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Hughes is the latest political operative in Florida with connections to DeSantis to be hired by Trump for the 2024 Republican primary. Susie Wiles, currently a top Trump adviser, worked for DeSantis during his run for governor in the Sunshine State in 2018 before falling out with his campaign a year later.
Before joining Trump’s team, Hughes worked for Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry. Hughes served Curry for the past eight years before the latter left office last month.
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Both Trump and DeSantis are set to appear at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday, where they will speak to Republican primary voters. Florida’s GOP presidential primary is currently scheduled for March 19, putting it behind some of the early states.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
