Florida Gov. entered the 2024 presidential race on Wednesday, stepping into a crowded Republican primary contest that will test both his national appeal as an outspoken cultural conservative and the GOPB次元官网网址檚 willingness to move on from former President Donald Trump.
The 44-year-old Republican revealed his decision in a Federal Election Commission filing before an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
It marks a new chapter in his extraordinary rise from little-known congressman to two-term governor to a leading figure in the nationB次元官网网址檚 bitter fights over race, gender, abortion and other divisive issues. DeSantis is considered to be even as the governor faces questions about his far-right policies, his campaign-trail personality and his lack of relationships across the Republican ecosystem. Still, he has generated significant interest among GOP primary voters by casting himself as a younger and more electable version of the embattled former president.
DeSantisB次元官网网址� audio-only announcement was to be streamed on Twitter Spaces beginning at 6 p.m. EDT.
He was expected to meet with donors at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Miami before the evening announcement and appearances on conservative programs, including Fox B次元官网网址 and Mark LevinB次元官网网址檚 radio show.
DeSantisB次元官网网址� entry into the Republican field has been rumored for months and he is considered one of the partyB次元官网网址檚 strongest candidates in the quest to retake the White House from Democratic President . The 80-year-old incumbent, Republicans say, has pushed the nation too far left while failing to address inflation, immigration and crime.
The Republican nominee will face Biden on the general election ballot in November 2024.
He joins a field that also includes former U.N. Ambassador , Sen. of South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. and biotech entrepreneur . Former Vice President Mike Pence is also considered a likely presidential candidate but has not yet announced a bid.
DeSantis begins his campaign in a top tier of two alongside Trump based on early public polling, fundraising and campaign infrastructure.
The two GOP powerhouses have much in common.
DeSantis, who likely would not have become the Florida governor without TrumpB次元官网网址檚 endorsement, has adopted the former presidentB次元官网网址檚 fiery personality, his populist policies and even some of his rhetoric and mannerisms.
Yet DeSantis has one thing Trump does not: a credible claim that he may be more electable than Trump, who faces multiple legal threats and in three consecutive national elections.
On Tuesday, a New York judge TrumpB次元官网网址檚 criminal trial to begin March 25, which falls in the heart of the presidential primary season. Trump pleaded not guilty last month to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records at his family company, the Trump Organization.
DeSantis, just six months ago, in Florida by a stunning 19 percentage points B次元官网网址� even as Republicans in many other states struggled. He also scored several major policy victories during the Republican-controlled LegislatureB次元官网网址檚 spring session.
Aware of DeSantisB次元官网网址� draw, Trump has been almost singularly focused on undermining his political appeal for months. Trump and his team believe that DeSantis may be TrumpB次元官网网址檚 only legitimate threat for the nomination.
Hours before the announcement, Trump argued in a social media post that B次元官网网址淩on DeSanctusB次元官网网址� cannot win the general election or the GOP primary because of his previous votes in Congress on Social Security and Medicare.
B次元官网网址淗e was, and is, a disciple of horrible RINO Paul Ryan, and others too many to mention,B次元官网网址� Trump wrote. B次元官网网址淎lso, he desperately needs a personality transplant and, to the best of my knowledge, they are not medically available yet. A disloyal person!B次元官网网址�
Trump allies dispatched a truck outside DeSantisB次元官网网址� planned donor meeting at the Four Seasons running an attack ad describing him as B次元官网网址渁 swamp creature.B次元官网网址� The Democratic National Committee sent another truck warning of DeSantisB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渆xtreme MAGA agenda.B次元官网网址�
The kitchen-sink attacks and nicknames wonB次元官网网址檛 be DeSantisB次元官网网址� only hurdle.
He is a political heavyweight in Florida and a regular on Fox B次元官网网址, but allies acknowledge that most primary voters in other states donB次元官网网址檛 know him well.
A Florida native with family roots in the Midwest, DeSantis studied at Yale University, where he played baseball. He would go on to Harvard Law School and become a Navy Judge Advocate General officer, a position that took him to Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
He ran for Congress in 2012 and won an Orlando-area district, becoming a founding member of the far-right Freedom Caucus on Capitol Hill.
Despite his lengthy resume, friends and foes alike note that DeSantis struggles to display the campaign-trail charisma and quick-on-your-feet thinking that often defines successful candidates at the national level. He has gone to great lengths to avoid unscripted public appearances and media scrutiny while governor, which is difficult, if not impossible, as a presidential contender.
Would-be supporters also worry that DeSantis has refused to invest in relationships with party leaders or fellow elected officials, raising questions about his ability to build the coalition he will ultimately need to beat Trump. By contrast, the more personable Trump has already scooped up an army of endorsements in key states, including Florida.
Beyond the primary, DeSantisB次元官网网址� greatest longer-term challenge may rest with the far-right policies he enacted as governor as an unapologetic leader in what he calls his war on B次元官网网址渨oke.B次元官网网址�
The Florida governor from Texas to MarthaB次元官网网址檚 Vineyard off the Massachusetts coast to draw attention to the influx of Latin American immigrants trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. He signed and then expanded the Parental Rights in Education bill B次元官网网址� known by critics as the B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 Say GayB次元官网网址� law, which bans instruction or classroom discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in Florida public schools for all grades.
More recently, he signed a law banning abortions at six weeks, which is before most women realize theyB次元官网网址檙e pregnant. And he single-handedly removed an elected prosecutor who vowed not to charge people under FloridaB次元官网网址檚 new abortion restrictions or doctors who provide gender-affirming care.
DeSantis also signed a law this year allowing Florida residents to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. He pushed new measures that experts warn would weaken press freedoms. He also took control of a liberal arts college that he believed was indoctrinating students with leftist ideology.
The governorB次元官网网址檚 highest-profile political fight, however, has come against the beloved Florida-based entertainment giant Disney, which publicly opposed his B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 Say GayB次元官网网址� law. In retaliation, DeSantis seized control of Disney WorldB次元官网网址檚 governing body and installed loyalists who are threatening to take over park planning, among other extraordinary measures.
DeSantis himself has threatened to build a state prison on park property.
The dispute has drawn condemnation from business leaders and his Republican rivals, who said the moves are at odds with small-government conservatism.
DeSantis delayed his announcement until FloridaB次元官网网址檚 legislative session was over. But for much of the year, he has been courting primary voters in key states and using an allied super political action committee to build out a large political organization that is essentially a campaign in waiting and already claims at least $30 million in the bank.
More than any of his opponents, except perhaps Trump, DeSantis is positioned to hit the ground running thanks to the super PACB次元官网网址檚 monthslong efforts to install campaign infrastructure across Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, which will host the first four contests on the GOPB次元官网网址檚 primary calendar early next year.
DeSantis gave no hint as to his plans during a meeting of the state clemency board Wednesday morning in Tallahassee, where he granted several pardons to former prisoners charged mostly with drug-related crimes decades ago.
B次元官网网址淵ou are what the country needs,B次元官网网址� one man said after getting his pardon.
A smiling DeSantis chuckled and thanked him.
Steve Peoples, Adriana Gomez And Anthony Izaguirre, The Associated Press
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