Ron DeSantis to start presidential campaign next week, sources say

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will formally announce his official participation in the 2024 presidential election next week, three people familiar with the plan told CBS News.

His plans to file formal presidential candidacy papers with the Federal Election Commission coincide with a rally in Miami by some of the governor’s most generous long-time donors. They are expected to be briefed on their election strategy and to receive requests to help raise large sums of money. Three people familiar with the plan said they were in favor of his bid.

A more formal kick-off event is expected to take place closer to June 1, according to people familiar with his plans.

A spokeswoman for DeSantis declined to comment. For news about next week’s launch, wall street journal.

On Monday, his political activism Moved from State Republican Headquarters to new office in Tallahasseethe move cost more than $5,000 and sparked federal election laws requiring DeSantis to register as a candidate and nominate a major election commission within 15 days.

Asked Monday in Sarasota, Fla., whether he would announce his candidacy in the next 15 days, DeSantis said, “There are a few things left.” [legislative] The agenda also includes the national budget.

DeSantis’ entry for the 2024 presidential election comes after months of trips to states and across the country in the early days of the presidential primary to promote his new book and his legislative record as governor. .DeSantis was in iowa For multiple events last weekend.

He was re-elected in November 2022 by a margin of nearly 20 points and is currently serving his second term as governor of Florida. Latest Legislative TerminologyIt closed in May, but Mr. DeSantis signed a series of bills popular with conservatives, including a six-week ban on abortions and a bill that bans the possession of concealed firearms. On the streets, he’s also highlighted bipartisan bills that include higher teacher salaries, lower prescription drug prices and tax cuts for household goods.

Backed by former President Donald Trump, he won the 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary and won the general election by a margin of 32,463 votes.

DeSantis served in the US House of Representatives from 2012 to 2018 and was a founding member of the conservative House Liberal Party. After DeSantis graduated from Yale University and then Harvard Law School, he served in the Navy as a JAG officer and was deployed to Iraq.

His profile within the Republican Party has grown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which lifted lockdowns on businesses and in-person classes earlier than other states. His “Parental Rights in Education” bill, which would ban teaching about sexual orientation and gender learning in the third grade, sparked a deal with Disney after its former CEO voiced his opposition to the bill. It became a battle that attracted the attention of The ban was later extended to eighth graders and below.

DeSantis has proven to be a prolific fundraiser, and his state political commission, “Friends of Ron DeSantis,” has received $225.8 million in donations since its launch in January 2018. ing. Since then, he has raised more than $4.3 million for Republican organizations in 10 different speaking engagements. March, according to his political team.

DeSantis’ backing super PAC, Never Back Down, launched earlier this year and has already raised more than $30 million.

The “Friends of Ron DeSantis” State Board holds more than $85.7 million in cash, which could go to PAC, but not directly to the DeSantis camp. The governor formally withdrew from the commission in early May.

So far, he consistently ranks second to Trump in early 2024 presidential polls, but maintains a double-digit lead over other Republican challengers. Trump has announced that he will run for president for the third time in November 2022.

a CBS News poll A poll in late April found that 58% of likely Republican voters backed Mr. Trump in the primary, while 22% backed Mr. DeSantis. Former Vice President Mike Pence and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy tied for third with a wide 5% per deal.

in the last few months, Up Republican Party donor Horrified by the six-week abortion ban signed by Mr. DeSantis in Florida and what he described as a “territorial dispute” over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he was reluctant to publicly support Mr. DeSantis’ bid. Republicans in Congress also criticized him for his comments about Ukraine. since then he said “Wrongly characterized” He also criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him a “war criminal”.

Trump has consistently targeted DeSantis at campaign events and on social media, and his PAC, MAGA Inc., has run ads denouncing DeSantis’ vote for Congress on Social Security and Medicare reform. rice field.

DeSantis refused to go head-to-head with President Trump, but after the interview messengerIn it, President Trump criticized Florida’s six-week abortion ban, stating that “many people in the pro-life movement feel it’s too strict,” and DeSantis provided one of the more direct responses. provided one.

“And as a Florida resident, I don’t think he answered the question, ‘Did you sign the heart rate bill that Florida did?'” he said Tuesday. “I signed the bill.

DeSantis also spoke frequently about how the Republican Party must break through the “losing culture” in recent elections, including 2020, when Trump lost to President Joe Biden.

“I didn’t see a red wave in this country [in 2022] As a result, I think the party has developed a culture of losing. I don’t think there is any accountability. And I think Florida really shows what it takes to do more than just win. [but] Win big and do big,” he said Monday.