DeSantis Calls Out County GOP for Continuing to Support Candidate Accused of Child Sexual Assault

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, file photo

The Palm Beach County Republican Party dropped its support for a candidate who is facing charges for molesting a child after backlash, including from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and the state GOP party chairman.

Michael Caruso, 67, was serving his fourth term in the Florida House of Representatives when he was appointed by DeSantis in 2025 to serve as the Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller.

In August, Caruso was arrested and charged with kidnapping, lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, luring or enticing a child, and child abuse causing mental injury, according to a report by WPTV. The disturbing allegations against Caruso involve a young male relative who was under 5 years old at the time of the alleged abuse, according to the Miami Herald.

After Caruso was arrested, DeSantis removed him from office via an executive order. Party leaders attempted to get Caruso to suspend his campaign, but he refused. Caruso is still running for re-election and released a statement confirming that via his spokesperson Juda Engelmayer.

“I maintain my innocence and remain a candidate for Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller. My name is on the November ballot, and I intend to win this election,” said Caruso.

The Palm Beach County GOP released its voter guide on Monday, listing all the statewide, congressional, and local races and ballot initiatives. Caruso’s name was included in the list. The county party’s posts appear to have been deleted from its social media accounts, but for most of the day Monday, there was not any statement rescinding the endorsement or addressing the deletion of the posts.

The decision to stick by Caruso drew bipartisan criticism. As one example, below is a tweet from Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Jolly saying that GOP Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is “right” to call the Palm Beach GOP support for Caruso “disgusting” and to say Caruso should “IMMEDIATELY withdraw” from the race.

DeSantis was among those calling out the county party for backing Caruso.

“We serve our party best by putting our citizens, state and country first,” wrote DeSantis. “Disappointing to see this endorsement. Some things are bigger than party.”

Republican Party of Florida chairman Evan Power also denounced Caruso and wrote that the party “does not support” him, adding that he “has every right to defend himself,” but “does not have the time or platform to run a campaign.”

“He should have stepped aside to allow the party to move forward,” Power wrote. In a follow-up tweet, he wrote that the state party had “asked the Palm Beach GOP to take down its voter guide” and “they obliged.”

A few hours later, the Palm Beach GOP posted an “UPDATED” voter guide that omitted Caruso.

“For the record, our guide originally listed every Republican nominee, as Florida Statute requires,” the caption read. “As soon as we were permitted to remove the nominee running for a constitutional office, we did.”

Power shared the post and wrote, “I appreciate the [Palm Beach GOP] doing the right thing.”

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