(New York Post) Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has told people in private that he will launch a campaign for the White House later this year, according to a report.
While DeSantis, 44, has not publicly said that he will enter the 2024 fray, the Washington Post reported on Thursday that in recent private conversations with allies, the governor of the Sunshine State has described his presidential candidacy as a certainty.
DeSantis, who was re-elected in a landslide last November, is not expected to announce his entry into the 2024 race until after the Florida state legislative session ends in May.
Preparations for his expected presidential run are far along, according to the Washington Post.
A pro-DeSantis super PAC launched by former Trump administration official Ken Cuccinelli on Thursday is expected to serve as an approved outside spending vehicle for DeSantis’s 2024 campaign, according to the outlet.
Cuccinelli’s NEVER BACK DOWN PAC is one of four political action committees seeking to draft DeSantis to enter the 2024 presidential race.
Cuccinelli, who served as acting director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services under former President Donald Trump, said in a statement Thursday that “grassroots conservatives see the governor as a leader and a fighter with a winning conservative track record who will lead the Republican Party to victory in 2024.”
“Based on those conversations, I am most confident that we will build an unmatched grassroots political army for Governor DeSantis to help carry him to the White House,” he added.