Now that Florida’s legislative session is over, all eyes are on Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has said he plans to decide whether to run for president in 2024 “relatively soon.”
The governor does not appear to be in any rush to make an announcement, but there are plenty of signs he plans to run. For instance:
- Florida just removed its resign to run law so he would be able to remain governor while running for president
- He’s had recent meetings with world leaders
- He’s been speaking in early primary states
- He just had a book tour
- He’s raising millions of dollars
On Friday, while marking the end of the state legislative session, DeSantis shrugged off concerns that it was taking him too long to announce whether he’s running for president. He said that doesn’t bother him.
“We’ll get on that relatively soon,” DeSantis said. “I mean, there’s just, you know, you either gotta put up or shut up on that as well. So, we’ll see.”
Former President Donald Trump and his allies are already treating DeSantis as if he’s a candidate.
Make America Great Again, Inc., a Trump-aligned super PAC, has spent about $8.6 million on ads going after DeSantis.
Current GOP primary polls show Trump leading DeSantis by a healthy margin.
But News4JAX Political Analyst Rick Mullaney said it’s so early he doesn’t suspect that will matter in six months.
One thing that’s possibly the most telling, Mullaney said, is that DeSantis has raised more money than Trump -- and he won’t be using it to run for governor again because he’s term-limited.
“Governor DeSantis was a prolific fundraiser when he ran for governor, set a record in the history of the United States,” Mullaney said. “He’s turning out to be a prolific fundraiser running for president. He right now has more money raised than Donald Trump.”
A super PAC supporting DeSantis, Never Back Down, spent more than $10 million on ads over the past few weeks, surpassing more than $9 million in total ad spending from MAGA Inc., according to AdImpact, which tracks political advertising.
Almost all of the $10 million spent in support of DeSantis went toward positive ads, running nationally and in early nominating states.
The ads highlight DeSantis’ family story, his handling of the pandemic and his criticism of what he calls the “woke mob.”
This week, DeSantis is meeting with dozens of wealthy fundraisers at the Florida governor’s mansion.
Outside of connecting with donors, DeSantis’ allies are seeking to introduce him to Republican primary voters on more personal and favorable terms.
This comes after visiting several important early-primary states and an international tour, which are all trademarks of a politician preparing to launch a presidential campaign.
DeSantis was in Wisconsin on Saturday.
“So, what’s the good news? The good news is the state of Florida and what we achieved shows Republicans can win again,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis has avoided directly answering any questions on a presidential run. When he was in Jacksonville in February, he said “wouldn’t you like to know” when News4JAX asked if he’d be running.
The first GOP debates are slated for August and Mullaney said the belief was he would announce well into June, but now he suspects that announcement will be pushed up to possibly this month.
“It really could be any time,” Mullaney said. “The conventional wisdom, which has turned out to be true, is that he would announce after the legislative session. The session is now over. The other conventional wisdom is he would wait until the end of June. I don’t think that will turn out to be true. I think the timetable has moved up.”
If DeSantis does announce he’s running for president, Florida lawmakers have cleared the way for him to do so without resigning by exempting candidates for president or vice president from the state’s “resign-to-run” law.
His travel records would also be protected.