Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis officially entered the 2024 presidential race Wednesday after months of anticipation, launching a campaign that will lean heavily on culture war battles and a contrarian COVID-19 record that brought him national attention and made Florida a leading laboratory for conservative governing.
DeSantis emerged from the pandemic as one of the Republican Party's top figures and most promising presidential prospects, putting him on a collision course with former President Donald Trump, who began attacking him months ago.
He enters the presidential race weakened by Trump’s constant attacks and polling well below his peak after a dominant re-election win last year, but still with considerable goodwill among Republicans, a huge amount of campaign cash and much less baggage than the twice-impeached Trump, who is facing 34 criminal charges.
DeSantis filed his paperwork with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday at 2:24 p.m., making his campaign official. He has a live, online event scheduled at 6 p.m. Wednesday with Twitter CEO Elon Musk to discuss the launch of his campaign.
Source: USA Today
