According to two people familiar with the decision, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis will officially enter the 2024 U.S. presidential race next week, making him Donald Trump’s main rival for the Republican nomination and throwing a wrench into the otherwise one-sided race.
According to a source, DeSantis will formally announce his candidacy the week of May 29, but he will most likely file the necessary paperwork on May 25 in order to coincide with a donor meeting in Miami.
According to a source familiar with the May 25 event, the invitation mentioned putting donors to “work,” an obvious reference to fundraising for DeSantis.A request for comment from DeSantis’ campaign was not immediately returned.
According to a recent Ipsos poll, despite Trump’s increased political attacks on the Florida governor in recent weeks, he still has a sizable lead in the Republican primary for 2024.
Some prominent Republican donors were concerned by DeSantis’ refusal to run against Trump until the Florida legislature finished its spring session earlier this month.
As a result of the attacks, DeSantis’ national poll numbers have dropped. DeSantis and his advisers, on the other hand, stuck to their original plan of making a campaign announcement during the legislature’s session.
Republicans have handed DeSantis a number of legislative victories
Republicans in the legislature have handed DeSantis a number of conservative victories in recent months, including an expansion of the state’s school voucher program, a prohibition on using public funds for sustainable investing efforts, the elimination of diversity programs at public universities, the legalization of permitless carry of concealed weapons, and, most notably, a ban on almost all abortions in the state.
Others have helped Ron DeSantis’ campaign. Never Back Down, a new political action committee on his side with unlimited funding, has been hiring people in key early voting states and airing TV ads in support of DeSantis and criticism of Trump.
DeSantis, 44, easily defeated his Democratic opponent in the gubernatorial election last year.
