WASHINGTON — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday — a diminished figure in his party after a steady fall in polls in recent months, but still the top rival to former President Donald Trump.
The governor filed his intentions with the Federal Election Commission, in advance of his expected official announcement in an online conversation with billionaire Elon Musk on Twitter on Wednesday evening.
DeSantis has tried to position himself as a culture warrior who will carry on Trump’s legacy as a fighter without the attendant baggage, including fundamental concerns over the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election and at least one criminal indictment.