After months of speculation, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis entered the presidential race on Wednesday, joining a burgeoning field vying for the Republican nomination in 2024.
DeSantis, 44, made little secret of his presidential ambitions. Before he was elected governor of Florida in 2018, DeSantis — a Yale graduate who served in the U.S. Navy — served three terms as a congressman representing Florida’s 6th Congressional District. In November, he won reelection to a second term as governor in a landslide, defeating Democrat Charlie Crist by more than 19 percentage points. In recent appearances across the country, as well as on a book tour that has served as a de facto campaign, DeSantis has touted what he has called the “Florida blueprint” as his vision for America.
