DeSantis is seen as Trump’s strongest Republican rival.
FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reacts to applause as he gives his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives March 7, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. MIAMI — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis 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’s willingness to move on from former President Donald Trump.
DeSantis is considered to be Trump’s strongest Republican rival 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 76-year-old former president.
The event started off with technical glitches the Twitter owner said were due to “straining” servers because so many people were trying to listen to the audio-only event. DeSantis, just six months ago, won his reelection in Florida by a stunning 19 percentage points — even as Republicans in many other states struggled. He also scored several major policy victories during the Republican-controlled Legislature’s spring session.
Trump allies dispatched a truck outside DeSantis’ planned donor meeting running an attack ad describing him as “a swamp creature.” The Democratic National Committee sent another truck warning of DeSantis’ “extreme MAGA agenda.”He is a political heavyweight in Florida and a regular on Fox News, but allies acknowledge that most primary voters in other states don’t know him well.
In an example of his level of media avoidance, his official Twitter account for governor posted a photo shortly after the FEC filing — a bill signing surrounded by dozens of bikers for legislation to help reduce motorcycle accidents in Florida. The media was not notified of the event ahead of time. The Florida governor sent dozens of immigrants from Texas to Martha’s 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 — known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans instruction or classroom discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in Florida public schools for all grades.
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