Darryl Boyer, the youngest emerging face of Flagler County’s Republican Party and a candidate for the Florida House seat held by Paul Renner in the 2024 election, was a guest this morning on Fox & Friends Weekend, his second appearance in four weeks on the show.
He appeared in a five-minute segment as part of what Fox dubbed “a panel of Florida voters” to discuss the developing Republican primary contest between Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump. Boyer took advantage of the opportunity essentially to announce his candidacy to a national audience.
“Now more than ever I believe that servant leadership is essential to our nation,” Boyer said. “I’m very proud of my former congressman, now governor, Ron DeSantis. Recently he inspired me to step up to the plate and serve to protect my state, so I recently just announced my candidacy to run for Florida state House.”
A 39-year-old Deerfield Beach business owner was on DeSantis’s side. An Estero Gen-Z woman sided with Trump. (Fox had been an ardent Trump supporter during and after his term as president, but distanced itself from him last fall and into 2023, with DeSantis getting a higher profile on the network.)
Boyer said “both candidates have an amazing track record,” and did not come down on one side or the other as far as who would or should win the primary.
He did so more clearly during an in-person interview in Palm Coast this morning, shortly after his appearance on Fox. “After I think the way that he left in the 2020 election, I think that that really changed a lot of opinions on him as a leader,” Boyer said of Trump. “I think he could have left in a better way, because he’s now tarnished the party and ultimately, our country. And I think DeSantis is going to do a really good job at unifying us, bringing our country together, re-steering away the ship, and I think he brings a lot of qualities that people aren’t used to seeing. He brings youth, which is valuable right now to politics. He brings grit, and I think he brings a lot of self responsibility as well as what we need.”
The Estero voter had been asked if she felt her vote was “nullified” in the 2020 election. She said “there were many problems with the 2020 election.” Asked in the in-person interview if he thought the 2020 election was stolen, Boyer was unequivocal: “I don’t believe it was stolen. I believe that, you know, we got the results. Joe Biden is our president.”
He praised Flagler County Elections Supervisor Kaiti Lenhart. Asked if he trusted the electoral system in the country, he said: “I do. And it’s been proven. Our electoral system is good. Now there was–there there are reports of ballot harvesting, fraud, but here in Florida, I trust our Florida elections.”
He later qualified the statement more, as if walking back his statement about the country as a whole and saying he could not address the state of the system beyond Florida. He then emailed: “Joe Biden is our President and Florida did a fantastic job hosting our 2020 Election. I can’t speak to other states.”
The backtrack was instructive, if disconcerting: while Boyer instinctively felt that the election was fair and accurate, he couldn’t quite bring himself to leave the statement unqualified, looking instead rest on the disingenuous stance that while Florida’s election went fine, doubt remains as to the rest of the country. Boyer, in other words, remains in the fold of doctrinaire Republican doubletalk on the 2020 election, seeking to concede legitimacy on one hand while leaving open the suggestion of fraud on the other. It’s the equivalent of conceding that yes, seas are rising around Miami, but the jury is still out elsewhere. It is not.
In fact, as nearly 70 judges and court decisions, including the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed, there was no room for doubt, as even the infamous audit of Florida’s election by a Florida-based company that had alleged fraud confirmed.
Boyer made his first appearance on Fox a month ago when Campus Reform, the college and university website run by the conservative Leadership Institute and focused on liberal biases on campus, asked him to be a guest in a segment about students accusing professors of racism. (“I thought that that was very disgraceful, because the reason why they could tell on their professors for racism was if they weren’t being called on in class,” Boyer said, recalling his contribution in that segment. “So it wasn’t like they were actually being racist.”) He had no idea how Campus Reform, which lists him as one of its “Florida correspondents,” found him to invite him.
Boyer, a Palm Coast resident, is one of three candidates so far in the GOP primary for Renner’s seat. Donald O’Brien, a county commissioner for the last seven years, announced his run in February, and a few days ago had an amiable coffee with Boyer. The third Republican candidate is James St. George, a physician who lists his campaign document address as 1103 Hayes Street in Tallahassee–the address of the political action committee manager Noreen Fenner.
Democrat Adam Morley of St. Augustine, an environmental advocate whose persistence has come to define sustainable optimism, has also filed to run, as he has for every election for that seat since 2016. Renner is term-limited.
(© FlaglerLive via Fox)
Laurel says
Same book, different cover. Too bad.
Atwp says
He think the 2020 election was fair. Surprised to hear a Republican say that.
JOE D says
ATWP:
You might want to read the end of the article again.
On the 2020 Elections: the candidate BACK TRACKED his interview statement, by saying he believed the FLORIDA 2020 elections were fair…..BUT he could vouch for the REST of the Country…..🤣
I’m sure initially after his interview, someone gave him a STERN “talking to,” about TOWING the GOP company LINE about 2020 election fraud. So he CLARIFIED his prior comments like a good REPUBLICAN POLITICIAN…guess we’ll see if he SURVIVES the “Good ol’ Boys” network, with his INTEGRITY INTACT.
Donna Kahler says
It sure seems to be there was a generous dose of editorial license dumped in the writing if this article
Michael Cocchiola says
Yukk! Another promising young life wasted.
Sorry, Darryl. If you are for DeDictator you cannot be for me and you should expect a flood of fire, brimstone and truth hurled at you.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Hey Mike, You havent picked a winner in years….Seems your always on the losing side.
Michael Cocchiola says
You’re right. Not a great record. And yet I persist!
Laurel says
Hey Dennis: I bet you Mike voted for Biden and Obama. Both winners! Obama twice, and Biden once…so far.
C’mon man says
@mike. Good to see you already jumping all over someone so soon. Only lies here are from your mouth.
Michael Cocchiola says
Lies! I don’t tell lies unless I’m quoting extremist Republicans. Problem with you, C’mon, is that you can’t seem to recognize the truth. Too much Trump, DeSantis, Fox and Newsmax. Try MSNBC.
Brian says
Yeah, MSNBC, the home of the left-wing pseudo-intellectual stuffed-shirt shills – Al Sharpton, Donnie Douche, and Mika, with her smirky smart-ass smile who grunts and moans like she’s trying to pinch off a deuce. All this bunch talks about is Trump and January 6.
Sad old man he is says
Why are you such an angry person.
Here is a young man trying to make a difference and have to spew your venom.
Sad for the people you that don’t want you to represent them.
Michael Cocchiola says
Not angry at all. Resolute would be the word. And I’ll remain resolute until the last admirer of Trump or DeSantis scraped off the bottoms of America’s shoes.
tulip says
I thought DeSantis wanted “education not indoctrination”? Well this young man has unfortunately been fed, and swallowed, the indoctrination pill by the two most horrible presidential candidates ever. Another NO vote on my ballot.
JustBeNice says
Darryl, You are a man of strength and integrity. I am proud to have taught you in high school and I will be proud to vote for you.
Shark says
If he goes on fox entertainment he’s a loser !!!!!
Bill C says
??????????????????????????????????
leg hump says
Whatever you do DON’T VOTE FOR O’BRIEN, he’s the worst one out of them all! He’s the only one that voted for the Serenity
disaster development, the other commissioners did not, remember that folks.
Jackson1955 says
Totally brainwashed!
No vote for me!
denise calderwood says
Congrats Daryl for standing up and offering your opinion on the race for Presidentcy on the national level. It is a shame that our local voters can’t see the strength energy diversity and enthusiasm and network that you would bring to the position. You are the future and the future is now …..remember that!
Deborah Coffey says
I can’t wrap my head around this one. Another Herschel Walker? Really? Darryl doesn’t know that his Republican Party despises him…but, it’s not above using him?
Joe D says
Herschel Walker? No…. It’s clear Daryl has a brain, and can string more than 2 sentences together.
Now the TEST will be if the Republican political machine will allow him to USE that brain to negotiate for his potential constituents. As soon as he has an INDEPENDENT thought not sanctioned by the powers that be….he’ll be cast aside unfortunately….I hope not.
Justsayin says
Debbie, just be honest. There is NO way a black man can have a different view in their political beliefs. You sound like Joe Biden, the racist extraordinaire. “You aren’t black if you don’t vote for me” Florida already has a black Republican congressman from the Naples area.
Celia Pugliese says
Our ballots will be as usual for our Adam Morley that cares for the preservation of our pristine coastal waters and beyond, our Florida families and their jobs, education without censorship and also green energy to protect our Earth…A Florida Native and
excellent family man to also protect the quality of life of all Florida taxpayers!
Foresee says
Does Darryl Boyer support banning “Beloved” by Toni Morrison (Nobel Prize winner), which is on the ban list in many counties in Florida? Here’s a title that would please the book banning mob: Django Rechained.
The Geode says
Nice to see y’all flipping out when you realize what I’ve been saying all along. SOME OF US CAN THINK FOR OURSELVES! It would have appeased your senses if he followed and spewed the usual trope that you expect from a stereotype. You want to call him “uneducated” and “misguided” because he is not speaking Ebonics, sagging his pants, standing on the corner, or doing “drive-bys”.
Nope. We can’t win with a group of people used to seeing generational lemmings following and leaping off the cliff of those before them. No other race is expected to be comprised of “monolithic group-thinkers” like us blacks, that is why the stereotype “defiers” is such an aberration to you.
You would be happy to see us as subservient and obsequious beggars depending on the government, destroying our communities, and eschewing education and guidance. We need MORE black conservatives. Sure, they would be castigated by most blacks and pasty-liberal whites – WE NEED THEM ANYWAY. Why not? You are going to dislike us as a conservative. You are REALLY going to dislike us as a stereotype when your pandering to the lowest common denominator reaches YOUR doorstep.
Black man. Damned if he do. Damned if he don’t…
Laurel says
Geode: Baloney. This is what you see because it is what you want to see. This “pasty… white” (giveaway to your bigotry) has “black” members in her family, and they can see through this. They are too smart to be fooled.
This young man is no more a “conservative” than Trump or DeSantis, but these men are who he thinks are doing a good job. He knows he has to cater to the current Republican Party in order to win, and they are not conservative either. That is not independent thinking to me.
Same book, different cover.
Foresee says
Agreed. There should be more black voices at every level of government. Yet Republicans are making every effort to suppress the black vote and erase black history. Under DeSantis an Advanced Placement course in African American Studies was banned for lacking “educational value and historical accuracy” and he approves banning access to books that address the black experience. Conservatism is one thing, extremism another. Again, the question is “would you support banning “Beloved” by Toni Morrison?
The Geode says
Whatever I thought MY children needed to know, I taught them. I don’t need anybody teaching THEIR version of anything other than reading, writing, grammar, history in a civic manner, and math.
I am in charge of everything else and if my kid wanted to read a book by “Toni Morrison” or “David Duke” that’s his choice. I would question the choice no matter WHO wrote it. I teach them to know as much about the things that trigger them as the things that make them smile. Save that woke, inclusive, and victimhood crap for the parents that allow other people to shape their kids’ lives because they are too lazy or don’t care enough to do it themselves.
No matter WHAT book they ban – Amazon can have it delivered to me in two days…
jake says
“…haters hate due to insecurities, low self-esteem, and deep envy. They see others doing better than them, compare themselves to others, and lash out in myriad forms, including via social media, whisper campaigns, mobbing (forming a group to bully), and even physical violence.” Gregory S. Parks
Sure do see a lot of that here.
Brian says
Fox pretty much works hand in hand with politicians. It’s pretty much propaganda.
Jane Gentile-Youd says
Adam Morley has worked tirelessly for the betterment of our environment for years but always overlooked because he is a registered Democrat. He has hauled in trash from our ocean many times, even pressured our roads always on his time and his dime. He is not full of promises; he is full of accomplishments, not just ‘promises’ and this REPUBLICAN is throwing her support to Adam for State House who has more than proven he cares about the quality of life for each and every one of us. Go Adam go!
Michael Cocchiola says
Darryl… give us your thoughts on the above article that highlights a young trans who got chased out of Florida by DeSantis’ policies.
K says
“Both candidates have an amazing track record” is laughable considering one was just indicted and charged for sending hush money to a porn star and the other is hated by a good majority of FL and many other states around the country for his incompetence. This kid just wants a good campaign run with allies such as desantis to get him to the top. That’s the only reason he’s showing support for them. This article is embarrassing and republicans are completely out of touch with reality these days. Good luck kid.