Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is reportedly preparing to enter the 2024 Presidential race in May.
DeSantis will form an exploratory committee with an official campaign launch soon after, according to one GOP operative familiar with the Florida Governor, per NBC News.
Some of the Florida governor's backers are urging DeSantis to officially announce a campaign by May 11, though others suggested the date may be too soon, according to two other GOP operatives. Sources appear to suggest a mid-May campaign announcement from the Florida Governor.
National political vendors descended on Tallahassee, Florida this week for meetings with DeSantis regarding a campaign.
"There has been an influx of national firms in town over the last few days," said one of the Florida GOP operatives familiar with the meetings. "It feels like a team that is staffing up, not scaling down."
A second GOP operative said DeSantis' meetings signal a likely presidential launch sooner than expected, the outlet reported.
“Large campaigns require in-house planning, and this has been ‘vendors: assemble’ week in Tallahassee,” said a third source familiar with the meetings.
The Florida Governor has fielded questions regarding potential aspirations for a 2024 campaign including an international trade mission in Japan this week. When asked about polling behind former president Donald Trump, who announced his re-election campaign late last year, DeSantis said, "I'm not a candidate, so we'll see if and when that changes."
Although DeSantis has not officially announced a campaign as of late April, former president Trump has released a series of attacks on the Florida Governor suggesting DeSantis' success in the Sunshine State is due to Trump's stumping for the Florida Governor during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign.
“A good politician knows when their moment is and they seize the opportunity; there’s no question that the door is swinging against DeSantis,” said Dennis Lennox, a Michigan-based Republican strategist who wants to support DeSantis in 2024. “Gov. DeSantis is the only Republican who can beat Trump. He is the only Republican who can beat Joe Biden. But he’s starting to look like a Scott Walker in 2015, Newt Gingrich in 2012 and Fred Thompson in 2008 — maybe even a Chris Christie, who ended up not getting into the race.”
On Wednesday, the Florida State Senate advanced a bill that would allow the Florida governor to campaign for president while serving as Governor. The bill passed along party lines, 28 to 12, and will be sent to the Florida House for approval.
In recent weeks, DeSantis has visited New Hampshire and Iowa twice along with embarking on a foreign policy tour which appears to suggest the Florida governor is seeking to establish a presence outside the Sunshine State.
