Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has officially announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race.
DeSantis filed all the necessary documents, marking the start of his campaign, just before a scheduled online discussion with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. His candidacy opens a new chapter in his rise from little-known MP to two-term governor. Now, both his national appeal and his popularity within the party will be tested against former President Donald Trump.
Last November, the 44-year-old governor of Florida secured a landslide victory in the election, with a 19-point margin over his opponent.
He built his reputation on challenging the containment policy of COVID-19, rejecting lockdowns and mandatory vaccination. In last year’s midterm elections, many Trump-backed candidates failed to get elected, but the Trump-DeSantis rivalry appears to have favored the Florida governor, with many voters then casting him as a politically viable alternative to Trump.
However, the sharpening of DeSantis’ rhetoric is making some of the party’s major donors hesitant. Some of them have questioned in private debates his views on social and cultural issues, such as the legislative ban on abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy, which he promoted.
Thomas Peterfai, a major Republican donor and founder of the stock exchange platform Interactive Brokers, said last month that he had suspended his donations to the DeSantis campaign in part because of the governor’s stance on abortion. Ken Griffin, founder of the hedge fund Citadel, has also reportedly “frozen” his support for DeSantis.
