Has pre-campaign Ron DeSantis ruined things for Ron DeSantis' 2024 run?

When it comes to laying the groundwork for a presidential run, Ron DeSantis may have done everything wrong

Ron DeSantis.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Gettyimages)

After months of intense speculation and more than a little optimistic prognosticating from Republican insiders and political commentators both, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appears poised to finally make official what has seemed obvious to anyone paying attention: He's indeed running for president in 2024.

According to multiple GOP operatives who have spoken with both NBC News and ABC News, the former congressman and first-term governor will launch his presidential campaign mid-May, establishing an exploratory committee as early as May 11, followed shortly thereafter by a public announcement of his intent to challenge former President Donald Trump for his party's nomination. It's a decision motivated, at least in part, by his supporters' worry over the "creeping national narrative that former President Donald Trump is the overwhelming front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination," as NBC's Matt Dixon and Natasha Korecki report. "A good politician knows when their moment is and they seize the opportunity," says one Republican adviser and aspiring DeSantis supporter to the network. "There's no question that the door is swinging against DeSantis."

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.