DeSantis Campaign Press Release - All-American Swimmer and Women's Sports Advocate Riley Gaines Endorses DeSantis for President

Gaines will join DeSantis in South Carolina Friday to highlight his steadfast support for women's sports

During an interview tonight with Eric Bolling on Newsmax, All-American swimmer and women's sports advocate Riley Gaines endorsed Governor Ron DeSantis for president. Gaines will join Governor DeSantis on the campaign trail in Greenville, South Carolina Friday evening to highlight how she will work with the governor to defeat Joe Biden and stop the left's war on women's sports once and for all.  

"I'm so excited to announce that I am officially endorsing Governor DeSantis as president," Gaines said. "His leadership has been crucial in rooting out the radical ideology that's really driving this insanity, and really bringing visibility to these cultural issues that affect the breakdown of families, the breakdown of faith, the breakdown of freedoms. He's really taken on this political establishment, the woke corporations, the media, and he's won. We know this based off his success in Florida alone."

Watch Gaines' full interview HERE.

DeSantis in June of 2021 signed the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act." The bill specifies that an athletic team or sport that is designated for females, women, or girls may not be open to students of the male sex, based on the student's biological sex listed on the student's official birth certificate at the time of birth. DeSantis in March of 2022 issued a proclamation declaring Florida-born Emma Weyant as the winner of the women's 500-yard (457-meter) freestyle at the NCAA women's tournament, rather than transgender athlete Lia Thomas.

ABOUT RILEY GAINES

Riley Gaines, a 12 time All-American swimmer with 5 SEC titles was a successful female swimmer at the University of Kentucky with ambitions to pursue a dental degree. That post-graduate ambition and her entire life was changed when she was forced to share a locker room and then compete against biological male Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Women's Swimming Championship. This uneven challenge, not just for Riley but for every woman competing in the pool that day, was made even more traumatic when the NCAA officials insisted on giving Lia Thomas the trophy, despite tying Riley down to the hundredth of a second in the event. Riley can recall wondering why no one was standing up for her or for any women in the room. This moment became her call to action -- to defend and protect America's daughters against the woke left and their gender-denying ideology.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY

Media interested in interviewing Gaines about her endorsement should reach out to [email protected].