Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to officially enter the presidential race next week, allowing him to raise the vast amount of cash he will need to challenge former President Donald J. Trump, according to two people familiar with his intentions.
Mr. DeSantis is expected to file his candidacy declaration paperwork with the Federal Election Commission ahead of a major fundraiser meeting with donors in Miami on May 25 in a show of strength. his financial strength. He must officially enter the race before he can raise funds for his presidential campaign.
He’s also likely to release a video to coincide with his official entry into the race and a series of events in the early nominated states set to take place over the next few weeks, according to a source. The Wall Street Journal first report that Mr. DeSantis will file the papers next week.
Mr. Trump is leading Mr. DeSantis by about 30 percentage points national polling averagebut the governor of Florida will be the most credible Republican challenger to enter the field to date.
He’s likely to start with more money in an outside group than any Republican primaries in history. He has more than 80 million dollars expected to be transfer from his state account to his super PAC, Never Back Down, has also raised more than $30 million, in addition to tens of millions of dollars more in funding pledges, according to people familiar with the matter. with fundraising.
Mr. DeSantis also has a long chain on the conservative policy achievements he passed Florida’s Republican-dominated Legislature after last year’s landslide re-election. And he’s gathered a huge amount of endorsements from state legislators in Iowa and New Hampshire, who can be influential in the primaries, as well as from people in his own state. that.
However, confronting Mr. Trump, whom Republicans gather behind after he was indicted in New York, was a high order. While the former president assaulted him daily, DeSantis wanted to engage in a delicate dance.
To win, he must attract large numbers of Republican primary voters who like Mr Trump but may be willing to move on from a candidate who lost in 2020 and continue the iteration. false statements about that election. Doing so requires Mr. DeSantis to distinguish himself from Mr. Trump without criticizing him so harshly that he risks offending Trump-friendly voters.
Mr. DeSantis seemed to walk that line successfully on a weekend trip to Iowa, part of a month-long string of political events he attended around the country prior to his announcement.
On Saturday, the grinning Mr. DeSantis appeared before Mr. Trump by making a surprise appearance in Des Moines, not far from where the former president canceled a rally that night because of bad weather. “What a beautiful night it was,” the governor said with a mockery that was clearly storm-free.
It remains unclear where or when Mr DeSantis plans to hold an official rally announcing his candidacy.
