It’s official. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is in.
DeSantis filed his paperwork for a presidential campaign with the Federal Election Commission, fulfilling rumors that he would do so this week. Later in the day, the Florida governor is expected to announce his 2024 plans in a Twitter Spaces event with CEO Elon Musk.
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Allies of DeSantis have begun dropping hints of an imminent announcement, including a video shared by his wife, Casey, foreshadowing a “fight” for the country.
America is worth the fight… Every. Single. Time. pic.twitter.com/lWNQ3DIXgp
— Casey DeSantis (@CaseyDeSantis) May 23, 2023
DeSantis’s Twitter handle was recently changed from “@RonDeSantisFL” to “@RonDeSantis.”
Democrats quickly lashed out at the governor in response to the filing.
“Ron DeSantis has pushed an extreme MAGA agenda focused on ripping Floridians’ freedoms away and now he wants to take that agenda nationwide,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement. “One thing is guaranteed — whoever makes it out will only have done so by catering to the most MAGA, right-wing Republicans in the primary.”
DeSantis is widely regarded as the chief GOP rival to former President Donald Trump despite several polls showing the former president with a commanding lead over the 2024 GOP field.
Trump preemptively greeted news of DeSantis’s expected entrance into the 2024 arena with a fiery tirade on his Truth Social platform suggesting DeSantis came to him begging for an endorsement during his 2018 campaign for governor.
“Look, Rob DeSanctimonious came to me asking for help. He was losing badly, by 31 points, to popular Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam,” Trump wrote. “Ron told me he had one last chance, my Support & Endorsement, which Putnam, and everyone else, wanted also. I gave it to Ron, and the race was over. In one day, he went from losing badly, to winning by a lot. With 3 LARGE TRUMP RALLIES, he WON THE GENERAL ELECTION in an upset. DISLOYAL!!!”
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Other primary foes, such as former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, have taken preemptive shots at DeSantis, with her campaign caricaturing him as a copycat of Trump.
In the run-up to the announcement, DeSantis has swung through key early states, such as New Hampshire and Iowa, seeking to build up support among primary voters. Following his Twitter event Wednesday, the governor is rumored to begin barnstorming states.
