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 GOP鈥檚 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 nation鈥檚 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.
DeSantis鈥� 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 News and Mark Levin鈥檚 radio show.
DeSantis鈥� entry into the Republican field has been rumored for months and he is considered one of the party鈥檚 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 Trump鈥檚 endorsement, has adopted the former president鈥檚 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 Trump鈥檚 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 鈥� even as Republicans in many other states struggled. He also scored several major policy victories during the Republican-controlled Legislature鈥檚 spring session.
Aware of DeSantis鈥� draw, Trump has been almost singularly focused on undermining his political appeal for months. Trump and his team believe that DeSantis may be Trump鈥檚 only legitimate threat for the nomination.
Hours before the announcement, Trump argued in a social media post that 鈥淩on DeSanctus鈥� cannot win the general election or the GOP primary because of his previous votes in Congress on Social Security and Medicare.
鈥淗e was, and is, a disciple of horrible RINO Paul Ryan, and others too many to mention,鈥� Trump wrote. 鈥淎lso, he desperately needs a personality transplant and, to the best of my knowledge, they are not medically available yet. A disloyal person!鈥�
Trump allies dispatched a truck outside DeSantis鈥� planned donor meeting at the Four Seasons running an attack ad describing him as 鈥渁 swamp creature.鈥� The Democratic National Committee sent another truck warning of DeSantis鈥� 鈥渆xtreme MAGA agenda.鈥�
The kitchen-sink attacks and nicknames won鈥檛 be DeSantis鈥� only hurdle.
He is a political heavyweight in Florida and a regular on Fox News, but allies acknowledge that most primary voters in other states don鈥檛 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, DeSantis鈥� 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 鈥渨oke.鈥�
The Florida governor from Texas to Martha鈥檚 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 鈥� known by critics as the 鈥淒on鈥檛 Say Gay鈥� 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 they鈥檙e pregnant. And he single-handedly removed an elected prosecutor who vowed not to charge people under Florida鈥檚 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 governor鈥檚 highest-profile political fight, however, has come against the beloved Florida-based entertainment giant Disney, which publicly opposed his 鈥淒on鈥檛 Say Gay鈥� law. In retaliation, DeSantis seized control of Disney World鈥檚 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 Florida鈥檚 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 PAC鈥檚 monthslong efforts to install campaign infrastructure across Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, which will host the first four contests on the GOP鈥檚 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.
鈥淵ou are what the country needs,鈥� 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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