Florida governor Ron DeSantis said Friday he plans to decide whether to run for president in 2024 “relatively soon.”
DeSantis’s comments came during a news conference marking the conclusion of Florida’s legislative session. Reports have suggested for months now that the governor would join the 2024 race sometime after the session ended.
“I felt very confident going into November ’22 we were gonna do very well, but you really had to put up or shut up on that,” DeSantis said of his landslide 19-point reelection win last year.
“I also understood that we had this opportunity here to be able to really, really do a lot of great stuff, and I’ve always said that we’re gonna see this through,” he added. “What happens in the future? We’ll get on that relatively soon. You either gotta put or shut up on that as well.”
Late last month, DeSantis dismissed reports that he planned to announce his candidacy in mid-May or early June.
“If there’s any announcements, those will come at the appropriate time,” he said. “But if anyone’s telling you that somehow they know this or they know that, that’s just inaccurate because there’s not been any decisions made.”
DeSantis has visited several areas across the country over the past two months to promote his book, The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival, allowing him to fortify his national star power. He’s visited several early primary states, including Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
In early March, Ken Cuccinelli, who previously served as the acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security under Trump, announced the launch of the Never Back Down PAC to urge DeSantis to run for president.
DeSantis would join an ever-growing Republican field that includes former president Donald Trump, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson.
Other Republicans weighing a potential 2024 bid include former Vice President Mike Pence, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie.
A polling average from FiveThirtyEight has Trump leading with 52 percent of the vote. DeSantis trails behind at 22.9 percent, coming in ahead of Pence with 5.7 percent and Haley at 4 percent.