According to two sources, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis will officially enter the 2024 U.S. presidential election next week, becoming Donald Trump’s biggest Republican competitor and shaking up a one-sided race.
A source said DeSantis would file paperwork declaring his candidacy on May 25 to coincide with a donor meeting in Miami, with a ceremonial launch the week of May 29.
According to a source aware of the event, the May 25 invitation said supporters would be put to “work,” implying DeSantis fundraising.DeSantis’ representatives didn’t respond. A recent Reuters/Ipsos survey shows former U.S. President Trump leading the 2024 Republican primary after increasing his political attacks on the Florida governor.DeSantis’ refusal to enter the race until the Florida legislature finished its spring session earlier this month upset some prominent Republican donors who wanted him to challenge Trump sooner.
Those attacks have hurt DeSantis in national polling. Nevertheless, DeSantis and his aides have stuck to their plan to utilize the legislature’s session to launch a campaign.
In recent months, Republican lawmakers gave DeSantis several conservative victories: they expanded the state’s school voucher program, banned public money from sustainable investing, scrapped diversity programs at public universities, allowed permitless carry of concealed weapons, and banned almost all abortion in the state.
DeSantis got help preparing for his candidacy. Never Back Down, a new political action committee that can raise unlimited dollars has hired workers in early voting areas and ran TV ads backing DeSantis and criticizing Trump.
DeSantis, 44, was re-elected governor last year, defeating his Democratic opponent by nearly 20 percentage points.
Comment Template