Ron DeSantis dazzled a Nevada rodeo crowd along with his all-American family during a campaign stop Friday night.
Florida Gov., his wife Casey DeSantis, and their three children Madison, 6, Mason, 5, and Mamie, 3, were accommodated by one of the Reno Rodeo’s sponsors in a box with a prime view of the arena, where a crowd of Die Participants could walk by and shake his hand or take a selfie.
“You’re in the right place,” one rodeo-goer told when asked what he thought of the 2024 Republican presidential nominee’s participation.
Before Ron and Casey took their kids to the rodeo, Ron and Casey drank beers with veterans in Reno at VFW Post 9211, aka “The Bunker.”
Friday’s celebrations came a day before Florida Gov. DeSantis, who will be the main guest at PAC’s Basque Fry’s 8th Annual Morning in Nevada in Gardnerville, Nevada — just under an hour outside of Reno.
Ron DeSantis, his wife Casey DeSantis, and their three children, Madison, 6, Mason, 5, and Mamie, 3, attended the Reno Rodeo while on a campaign tour of Nevada
Ron DeSantis and his all-American family dazzled a Nevada rodeo crowd on Friday night
Also spotted at the rodeo alongside DeSantis was former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, a longtime Donald Trump ally who defected to support DeSantis in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
Laxalt and DeSantis lived together during their naval officer training and have remained close friends over the years.
Both men were officers in the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps and served in Iraq.
Laxalt ran Trump’s 2020 Nevada campaign, but this time he’s supporting DeSantis and running the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down.
The ten-day Reno Rodeo is a coveted annual event in western Nevada where contestants pull out their best boots, biggest cowboy hats, pressed jeans and flashiest belt buckles to watch the competitions, which include bareback riding and barrel racing, as well as bull and bull racing belong to bronc riding.
Former Rodeo President Scott Patterson confirmed that DeSantis is the first presidential candidate ever to attend the Reno Rodeo.
Event organizers told that DeSantis wanted to stay throughout the Friday night celebrations as his children are big fans of the bull riding, the closing event.
The ten-day Reno Rodeo is a popular annual event in western Nevada
Also seen at the rodeo alongside DeSantis was former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt (right), a former Donald Trump ally who defected to support DeSantis, his longtime friend
Laxalt (right) ran Trump’s 2020 Nevada campaign, but this time he’s supporting DeSantis and running the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, his wife Casey and children Madison, Mamie and Mason attend Patriot Night at the Ren Rodeo in Nevada on Friday
Many in the crowd eagerly awaited DeSantis’ arrival, while a few others, who appeared apolitical, told they only vaguely knew the 2024 candidate.
The CEO of a Reno and Tahoe-based company who attended Friday night’s rodeo said he plans to change his registration from independent to Republican so he can vote for DeSantis in the primary.
Richard Harrison, 45, told that he voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election but said he was “too crazy” which is why he switched his vote to Joe Biden in 2020.
But the Nevada voter said he fears Biden is “too old” to continue as president and now supports DeSantis.
At the rodeo, DeSantis shook hands as he walked to the stands after a private meeting with the event’s sponsors.
Many would-be voters approached DeSantis for photos as he settled into the box.
Despite being a long way from the Sunshine State, DeSantis seemed to feel right at home. He wore the black boots he often wears with jeans at campaign events with a white quarter-zip over a light blue and plaid button-down dress.
Casey, who is fast becoming a fashion icon and drawing comparisons to former first ladies Jackie Kennedy and Nancy Reagan, wore a cobalt blue zip-up over a white tee and jeans.
Earlier in the day, DeSantis stopped to have beers with veterans in Reno at 9211 VFW Post, aka “The Bunker.”
Ron, Casey and Adam Laxalt serve drinks behind the bar at the VFW post
The three children wore matching navy blue shirts with “RD24” written on them to promote their father’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. The family of five all wore cowboy boots and jeans.
DeSantis will appear along with Laxalt and other Nevada conservatives and leaders at the 8th Annual Morning at the Nevada PAC’s Basque Fry on Saturday morning, about an hour outside of Reno.
Other participants in the Basque Fry include Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo; Pro-Second Amendment media personality Dana Loesch; and Steve Cortes, the national spokesman for the largest PAC supporting DeSantis’ presidential election, Never Back Down.
The Nevada presidential primary is scheduled for Feb. 6, making it among the earliest states on the Republican schedule as well as the newly revised Democratic primary schedule.
The Basque Fry, a celebration that includes roasted lamb testicles, is considered a key event in the run-up to the Silver State primary.
Also known as ‘lamb fries’, the dish is a staple of Europe’s Basque culture and the event, which is modeled after the cookouts of Laxalt’s grandfather, former Nevada Governor Paul Laxalt, pays homage to the family’s Basque heritage .
The event usually draws thousands of conservatives who come from across the state to have fun.
DeSantis is headlining the festival, a foray into the turf Trump has won comfortably in the last two primaries, drawing bitter contempt in the Trump camp.
“No wonder Ron DeSantis is looking for a bunch of crap,” Trump’s senior adviser Chris LaCivita told NBC News when asked about the Florida governor’s visit to the Basque Fry.
Erin Perrine, the communications director for the DeSantis-friendly PAC Never Back Down, didn’t like that comment. “The Trump team’s obsession with men’s genitals is more perverse than a guard book,” Perrine told NBC.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be headlining the 8th Annual Basque Fry in Nevada on Saturday. The event features “Lamm-Fries” – steamed and roasted lamb testicles
Republican supporters gather to enjoy lamb fries at the Seventh Annual Basque Fry at Corley Ranch in 2022. The event includes live music, an inflatable rodeo ride and Basque cuisine, and is modeled after former Nevada Gov. Paul Laxalt’s cookouts
The bigger question at stake is whether DeSantis can gain a foothold in Nevada, where Trump had strong support in the state’s Republican Party but lost the state in both general elections.
“Trump hasn’t won Nevada in the last two rounds,” Laxalt told NBC. “I was Trump chairman twice. “I don’t see a way for him to win Nevada in a general election.”
Laxalt’s grandfather, Paul Laxalt, was Governor of Nevada and represented the state in the US Senate, and today’s Basque Fry is modeled after his grandfather’s cookouts.
Trump’s adviser LaCivita called Adam Laxalt a loser.
“So Adam Laxalt, who lost the gubernatorial race in 18 and lost the Senate race in 1922, is lecturing President Trump?” LaCivita said. “This is the pot that calls the cauldron black.”
Taylor Budowich, the CEO of MAGA Inc., Trump’s top super PAC, told NBC about DeSantis, “There’s no sign he can win in any state.”
“It’s clearly evident in their awkward approach,” Budowich said. “They just spin their wheels without naming a way to conquer a single state.”
MAGA Inc. spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt even mocked the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down PAC for advertising in the state, with the recent ad highlighting the Florida governor’s attendance at the Basque Fry.
Leavitt called it a desperate attempt to “just get people to show up to DeSantis’ events.”