Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is reportedly considering a run for president in 2024.
According to anonymous Republican sources, DeSantis’ political team has already identified potential hires in early primary states such as New Hampshire and Iowa, and key members of his 2022 reelection team, Phil Cox and Generra Peck, are involved in ongoing talks about a potential 2024 campaign.
Washington Post reported:
DeSantis’s political team has already identified multiple potential hires in early primary states such as New Hampshire and Iowa, according to one of the Republicans, who said experienced operatives have expressed interest. This Republican also said that Phil Cox and Generra Peck — two key members of DeSantis’s 2022 reelection team — are involved in ongoing talks about 2024.
Another Republican with knowledge of the conversations said DeSantis advisers met recently to discuss the 2024 election. The Republicans spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks.
Some in DeSantis’s orbit expect Cox and Peck would play roles in a DeSantis run, if it happens. Cox, a former executive director of the Republican Governors Association, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did Peck, who was the campaign manager for DeSantis’s decisive midterm victory over Democrat Charlie Crist.
DeSantis is widely seen as a formidable potential challenger to former president Donald Trump, who is hitting the trail for the first time this weekend since his November campaign announcement, with planned Saturday stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Bill Bowen, a New Hampshire GOP delegate, said that enthusiasm for a DeSantis campaign is high in his state. “I’m convinced there’s a good network of establishment party people in New Hampshire that will quickly have a very effective DeSantis campaign,” Bowen said.
But DeSantis has said little about his ambitions for 2024 and has dodged questions about his plans. His 19-point reelection margin in Florida this past fall cemented his status as a rising star in the party, just as many Republicans grew newly doubtful of Trump’s ability to deliver conservative wins after many of his endorsed candidates lost key races in the midterms.
DeSantis is one of many Republicans making moves toward entering the 2024 presidential race. Alternative possible candidates include members of Trump’s administration, such as former vice president Mike Pence, and a host of other governors — some of them aligned with Trump, and others who have vocally criticized the former president.
