Floridians worry about being left behind as DeSantis plans for 2024.

Is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Preparing for a Presidential Run?

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has cut ties with a political action committee (PAC) bearing his name, leading many Floridians to speculate that he is preparing to abandon Florida for a presidential run. On May 9, DeSantis severed ties with “Friends of Ron DeSantis,” a major state-level PAC “committed to advancing” the governor’s “Freedom Agenda and keeping Florida free.” According to the website, the new “associated person,” is Florida State Senator Blaise Ingoglia.

Preparing for the Presidency

This move is seen as a key step by DeSantis in preparing to run for the presidency, as state law prohibits the use of money raised by a state-level PAC for a race at the federal level. Tim Sharp, a “canceled” Florida House candidate and host of “The Sharp Response” on Rumble’s Red Voice Media, said, “He’s running.”

“He just wanted to make sure the revision on Resign-to-Run came through,” Sharp told The Epoch Times.

Florida Statute 99.012— the “Resign-to-Run” law—says that “any officer who qualifies for federal public office must resign from the office.” However, on April 26, Florida’s legislature passed Senate Bill 7050. Buried deep within the 96-page measure is an exception that would allow state officeholders like DeSantis to run for president or vice president without resigning.

Political Theater

Sharp was critical of the idea that, just after Floridians reelected him as their governor, he would make a run for the White House. “I think all of the promises he made during his reelection campaign had nothing to do with Floridians. It was just a way to position himself for the next step in his political career,” Sharp posited. “It was all political theater.”

Should DeSantis decide to make his campaign official and make a run for the White House, it wouldn’t be the first time he left one office to reach for another. DeSantis began his political career as a representative of Florida’s 6th District, where he served from 2013 to 2018. During that time, DeSantis missed 4.2 percent of roll call votes, nearly twice the median rate of 2.5 percent. On Sept. 10, 2018, DeSantis sent a letter to then-U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, resigning his seat in order to run for governor in Florida, as required by the Resign-to-Run law.

The Tours

The detachment from “Friends of Ron DeSantis” isn’t the first move that has fueled the fires of speculation that he’s preparing for a presidential bid in 2024. Just three months after winning his landslide reelection in Florida, DeSantis traveled to New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago to pledge his support for law enforcement. Days later, he hosted a three-day retreat for his top donors at the Four Seasons hotel in Palm Beach, just four miles away from Mar-A-Lago.

From there, DeSantis launched his book tour, traveling through a string of key primary states, including New Hampshire, Iowa, Ohio, Virginia, Nevada, and Michigan. In April, DeSantis traveled to Israel and Japan. While DeSantis billed it as an “international trade mission,” some said it was a move to establish foreign policy credibility.

Endorsements

While DeSantis has racked up an impressive list of endorsements in states like Utah and Michigan, legislators in his home state are considerably less enthusiastic. According to the endorsement tracker by Axios, DeSantis has the backing of three House members and none in the Senate. Trump has been endorsed by 45 House Republicans and nine Florida senators.

It remains to be seen whether DeSantis will officially announce his candidacy for the presidency, but many Floridians are already speculating about his intentions.