Kellyanne Conway's Daughter Slams Possible DeSantis Presidential Bid

Kellyanne Conway's daughter, Claudia Conway, has expressed her disapproval of the possibility of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' presidential bid.

Republican DeSantis has not officially declared a 2024 White House bid but he is widely considered to be the biggest obstacle to former President Donald Trump's re-election campaign.

While DeSantis is yet to make a public declaration about his presidential intentions, Republicans in his state recently cleared a major hurdle for him to run for the highest office in the land following the passage of a bill.

SB 7050 passed in the Florida State House by a 76-34 vote on Friday. The bill includes an amendment to the state's Resign to Run law that requires officials to resign from office before qualifying as a candidate in another race.

Under the new bill, DeSantis would be allowed to maintain office even if he runs for president or vice president.

All 34 votes against the proposed amendment came from House Democrats. Nine state lawmakers did not vote on the bill.

Over the past several days, the bill has been a talking point for political observers, including the progressive nonprofit Gen-Z for Change, whose Twitter account shared: "Florida Republicans have officially cleared the way for Governor Ron DeSantis to run for President."

Claudia Conway, whose mother served as a senior White House counselor to Trump and managed his 2016 presidential campaign, responded to the tweet by writing: "UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," alongside a string of tomato emojis.

In years past, the 18-year-old made headlines for publicly lambasting her mother during her stint as a senior counselor to Trump. The pair have since patched up their relationship, though Claudia Conway remains a critic of Trump.

As Trump's legal issues dominated headlines last month, Claudia Conway took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the matter.

"No one is above the law," the erstwhile American Idol contestant tweeted, alongside a pair of red heart emojis. "F*** you Donald."

The outspoken teen, who describes her politics as left-leaning, added that she had been anticipating the former president's legal reckoning to come for years.

"I've been waiting for Trump to be under arrest since I was 14 and lived in DC," she wrote. "Prayers work."

Claudia Conway's lawyer father, George Conway, is a co-founder of the anti-Trump political action committee The Lincoln Project.

In April, Trump surrendered to authorities in New York, where he pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to two women before the 2016 presidential election. Trump made history by becoming the first former U.S. president to be charged in a criminal investigation.

The arraignment followed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation into payments allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in connection with alleged affairs they had with Trump. He has maintained his innocence in the case and denied having the affairs.

Despite his legal woes, recent hypothetical polling data shows that Trump holds a decisive lead over DeSantis for the Republican nomination. In a Harris/Harvard poll conducted on April 18 and April 19, Trump was leading the Florida governor by 35 percentage points among GOP voters.

Overall, Trump earned 55 percent support among Republicans voters in the recent survey, and has also stayed well ahead of his former running mate, ex-Vice President Mike Pence, in a hypothetical primary matchup.

DeSantis has not announced his official candidacy but is rumored to launch his 2024 campaign in the spring. The Florida leader has become a rising star in the Republican Party in recent years and has been touted as Trump's potential biggest competition in his reelection campaign for the GOP nominee.

Republican Florida House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo supported amending the state law in November 2022, telling Politico that it would be a "good idea" to allow DeSantis to run for president without having to resign.

"If an individual who is Florida governor is running for president, I think he should be allowed to do it," Passidomo said. "I really do. That's a big honor and a privilege, so it is a good idea."

This is not the first time Florida's legislature has removed the resignation requirement. In 2008, the law was modified for then-Governor Charlie Crist, who was a front-runner for John McCain's potential running mate. The requirement, however, was reinstated in 2018.