Ron DeSantis filed paperwork Wednesday to run for president in 2024, making a long-awaited entrance to a race that will test whether a Republican governor who rewrote Florida’s political rulebook — and often infuriated critics — can overcome the challenges of a race for the nation’s highest office.
The formal entrance to the race officially puts DeSantis, 44, on a collision course with former President Donald Trump, his onetime political benefactor whom he now faces in a Republican presidential primary. The two politicians are the top choices of GOP voters, according to early polls of the contest, although Trump has opened a substantial lead in recent months that has solidified his status as the race’s clear-cut front-runner.
In addition to Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have also formally declared as presidential candidates, with the winner of the primary likely facing Democratic President Joe Biden in next year’s general election.
