DeSantis Launches ’24 Campaign on Twitter

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis entered the 2024 presidential race 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.

“I’m running for president to lead our Great American Comeback,” DeSantis tweeted Wednesday before his Twitter Spaces campaign presentation, which started with technical difficulties and was crippled for more than 15 minutes.

The 44-year-old Republican revealed his decision in a Federal Election Commission filing before an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

DeSantis is considered to be Trump’s strongest Republican rival even as the governor faces questions about his conservative 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 electable version of the 76-year-old former president.

DeSantis’ audio-only announcement was streamed on Twitter Spaces beginning at 6 p.m. ET. He also was holding a donor event at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Miami on Wednesday.

DeSantis joins a field that also includes former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Former Vice President Mike Pence is also considered a likely presidential candidate but has not yet announced a bid.

DeSantis and Trump have much in common.

DeSantis, who likely would not have become the Florida governor without Trump’s endorsement, has adopted the former president’s fiery personality, his populist policies and even some of his rhetoric and mannerisms.

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.

Hours before the announcement, Trump argued in a social media post that “Ron DeSanctus” cannot win the general election or the GOP primary because of his previous votes in Congress on Social Security and Medicare.

“He desperately needs a personality transplant and, to the best of my knowledge, they are not medically available yet,” Trump added. “A disloyal person!”

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.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.