This Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DenSantis, an outspoken cultural conservative long seen as Donald Trump’s leading rival for the Republican nomination, is set to launch his 2024 presidential campaign.
The 44-year-old Republican governor planned to announce his decision in an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. DeSantis is viewed as former president Donald Trump’s chief rival for the Republican Party’s nomination.
The governor joins a growing list of contenders seeking to unseat Mr Trump, who leads by more than 30 points in national opinion polls.
Beginning next February, Republican voters will go to the polls in a series of primary elections to determine which candidate will face President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the November 2023 general election.
The online event will be moderated by tech entrepreneur David Sacks, a close ally of the Tesla founder and a supporter of Mr. DeSantis. The platform titled Twitter Spaces that allows “creators” to host live audio conversations that other Twitter users can join and engage with.
It was not immediately clear whether the two plan to appear together in person and whether Mr. Musk is showing support for the Flordian’s campaign by hosting the launch of his platform.
DeSantis’s announcement will come on the first day of a fundraising retreat in Miami where his supporters will reportedly be briefed about the upcoming campaign; it is said that this event will end months of speculation regarding the governor’s official candidacy.
DeSantis is expected to file paperwork declaring his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission this week.
