As Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis makes his first trip on Friday to Iowa – the state that leads the GOP presidential nomination calendar – Florida’s governor has reportedly told confidants he intends to run for the White House in 2024.
DeSantis’ trip to any of the early voting states on the GOP primary and caucus schedule will be his first this cycle. He will stop in Des Moines and Davenport, where Republican Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa will join him. He will also meet with GOP state lawmakers at the Capitol in Des Moines.
On the eve of the visit, The Washington Post – citing two sources familiar with his comments – reported that DeSantis described his plan to run for president without warning which would suggest he was still Deciding to launch the campaign.
The Florida governor has seen his popularity among conservatives across the country soar over the past three years due to his forceful pushback against coronavirus pandemic restrictions and his aggressive actions as a culture warrior after the media, corporations, and teachers unions. The governor won a landslide victory in the 19-point gubernatorial re-election in November. In recent speeches, he has been noting that his policy victory in Florida could serve as a roadmap for the entire country.
Sources in DeSantis’ wider orbit have said any presidential campaign launch would take place in late spring or early summer, after the end of the current legislative session.
However, the governor’s latest travel schedule is increasingly fueling more speculation about a potential White House run. After a high-profile trip to Iowa, he left on Saturday for Nevada, where the fourth vote on the GOP presidential nominating calendar is held. Additionally, sources have told Fox News that stops are likely in the coming weeks in New Hampshire and South Carolina, which hold the second and third contests on the GOP presidential nominating calendar.
Fox News has learned that DeSantis’ events in Iowa and Nevada are being organized by “End to the Republic”, a recently formed public advocacy group that has campaigned for governors in New York City and suburban Philadelphia and Chicago. Halts were planned so that the demonstration could be done. Law enforcement support.
The trip to Iowa comes days after the start of Florida’s legislative session, where thanks to a newly elected GOP supermajority in Tallahassee, DeSantis aims to score a more conservative victory. It comes as he unleashes his “Florida Blueprint” across the country and promotes his newly released memoir, “The Courage to Be Free.”
On Thursday night, he headlined a major Alabama GOP dinner.
When asked about his 2024 timeline on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” last week, DeSantis pointed to the upcoming legislative session and his book tour, saying, “Those are what we’re going to be doing in these next few months.” As we get past that, then we can take a call from there.”
Meanwhile, in another sign of the possibility of DeSantis running for the White House, former Trump administration deputy Homeland Security director Ken Cuccinelli launched a new pro-DeSantis super PAC on Thursday called the “Never Back Down PAC.”
Two sources familiar with DeSantis’ political world thinking told Fox News that the new super PAC is likely to get the governor’s blessing should he go ahead and run for the White House.
Two existing Super PACs — titled “Ready for Ron” and “Ron to the Rescue” — that are not affiliated with DeSantis or his political circle are already up and running, raising money as they campaign for the governor’s presidency. request to start.
However, sources within DeSantis’ wider political circle described those groups as “a crackdown – plain and simple”.
As DeSantis arrived in Iowa, a new poll of Republican voters in the state indicated that they had roughly the same favorable views of former President Trump and DeSantis.
Eighty percent of Republicans questioned in a highly anticipated Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll released early Friday said they have a very or mostly favorable view of Trump, with 75% saying the same thing about DeSantis. have been
However, the poll highlighted that the former president’s favorable ratings in Iowa have steadily declined since peaking a year and a half ago.
Trump launched his third presidential campaign in November, and former two-term South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced her candidacy last month, becoming the first major Republican to join the former president in the race for the GOP nomination.
Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, polled 53% very or mostly favorable. Four out of 10 asked in the poll did not know enough about Haley to form an opinion.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is making great strides toward launching a White House campaign but who currently remains, like DeSantis, on the fringes of 2024, was viewed very or mostly favorably by two-thirds of GOP respondents. .