It was only a matter of time, and that time is about to come. Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will officially launch his candidacy for the 2024 U.S. presidential bid on Wednesday evening during a live Twitter event with network owner Elon Musk. several American media reported on Tuesday.
This campaign launch, expected for several days, will thus place the ultra-conservative politician, who poses as a defender of wokism in his southern state, at the heart of another merciless face-to-face with former American President Donald Trump in the Republican primary. A risky duel whose outcome, several months before this race for the nomination, still remains uncertain.
“It’s now or never for Ron DeSantis, who in recent months has lost significant political momentum and seen his popularity plummet in the polls, analysis in an interview with the Duty Aubrey Jewett, professor of political science at the University of Central Florida. The only way he now has to reverse this trend is to officially announce his candidacy and start nurturing an election campaign to aggressively argue that he is a better candidate for the Republican Party than Donald Trump. »
Ron DeSantis has therefore opted for a strongly provocative entry on the scene by showing himself alongside the controversial businessman Elon Musk, who, since last summer, has regularly expressed favorable opinions on the candidacy of the governor of Florida. The aspirant to the White House must continue this campaign launch on the Fox News network, as part of another interview led by Trey Gowdy, ex-elected from South Carolina, according to the network. Fox News was a big contributor to Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016, but the network seems, since its defeat in 2020, to have distanced itself from the former reality TV star.
Ron DeSantis then invited donors to a hotel in Miami on Wednesday evening to kick off another fundraising campaign aimed at fueling the difficult campaign he will have to lead to get to the White House.
A victory for the governor of Florida is still possible
The Republican, presented since the defeat of Donald Trump in 2020 as his natural successor, was waiting for the end of the legislative session in Florida, which ended on May 5, before making the leap into the federal political arena.
“He has a chance of winning the Republican nomination,” said Aubrey Jewett. In recent months, he has managed to get several conservative policies adopted in Florida on hot topics that resonate with Republican voters, including abortion, banned after six weeks, crackdowns targeting illegal immigration, education checks and measures attacking the LGBTQ+ community and the research stream on race, law and power. »
“The Governor of Florida has also been successful in raising significant amounts of money that will allow him to continue his campaigns outside of Florida and to take his message to more Republican voters across the country,” adds the political scientist.
Controversial policies
At 44, the Republican enters the race in a tense climate in his own state, where he finds himself at loggerheads with the multinational Disney, established since 1971 in the Orlando area. Last February, the governor decided to regain control of the autonomous district of Walt Disney World, to punish the company for having spoken out publicly against its laws deemed discriminatory against homosexuals.
Fightback: The entertainment giant last week backed out of a major $1 billion investment that was supposed to create 2,000 jobs in Florida, while reiterating its attacks on Ron DeSantis and his use of the machinery of government to harm to the multinational and to the smooth running of business in this State.
In a dramatic move, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People also issued a warning on Tuesday advising its members against travel to Florida due to the governor’s anti-African American policies.
Since taking office in 2019, Ron DeSantis has distinguished himself by his attempts to reduce access to the ballot boxes for African-American voters by redrawing electoral maps, in addition to having set up special police targeting this community, which he accuses of contributing to massive fraud during the polls. The facts, however, do not support these accusations.
This fellow populist has also drawn criticism from his African-American population since he attacked the free flow of ideas and books exposing racial tensions in the United States and cut access to public funds for programs. schools that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
“Ron DeSantis has taken a number of very conservative positions that could help him in the Republican primary, but also, conversely, could hurt him in a general election”, if he were to come face to face with Joe Biden, says Aubrey Jewett.
According to Morning Consult’s latest poll, Donald Trump still leads his party’s nomination race by 38 points over Ron DeSantis.
“A victory for the governor of Florida is still possible. But it is not necessarily good news for Republicans, since it risks dividing party voters during the presidential election, many of whom are still very attached to Donald Trump, adds Mr. Jewett. There is also a risk that the ex-president will run as an independent, in the event of a loss to DeSantis, which would facilitate a second victory for Joe Biden. »