Trump ally Roger Stone teases run for Florida governor if DeSantis doesn't call for election audit

Former President Trump adviser Roger Stone says he's considering a bid for Florida governor if GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn't conduct an audit of the state's 2020 election results.

Stone tweeted that he would challenge DeSantis next year as a Libertarian candidate.

"If Florida governor Ron DeSantis does not order an audit of the 2020 election to expose the fact that there are over 1 million phantom voters on the Florida voter rolls in the Sunshine state I may be forced to seek the Libertarian party nomination for governor Florida in 2022," he posted.

In a separate Twitter post, Stone reiterated the unsubstantiated claim that last election's election in Florida was riddled with fake voters, according to Newsweek.

"I heard governor Ron DeSantis say that Florida had the most honest election in our history in 2020 yet I know for certain there are 1 million phantom voters in the Florida voter rolls. These 'voters' simply do not exist," he said.

DeSantis has been steadfast that Florida is not planning to conduct an audit, despite growing calls from fellow Republicans to do so and GOP legislators in such states as Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin either considering one or amid conducting one.

Trump won Florida with 51.2% of the vote, but some Republicans still insist the results should be reviewed.

"It's not about margin of victory," says Florida GOP state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, who sponsored a bill calling for the audit. "The fact is that people want total verification of the election results. They want an independent review of the votes."

DeSantis said several weeks ago that an automatic audit already occurred after initial voting.

"What we do in Florida is, there's a pre- and post-election audit that happens automatically," DeSantis said, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "So, that has happened. It passed with flying colors in terms of how that's going."

He also argued that Florida has already made efforts to improve voting integrity including stricter voter ID for mail-in ballots. However, the law is being challenged in court on the argument it restricts minority voting. 

Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee, a Republican appointed by DeSantis, also said this month that there was no need to do an audit in the state, Newsweek also reports.