OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that he filed paperwork to seek a second term as governor.
The move seems to indicate that he does not plan to run for president in 2024, leading many to believe that Donald Trump is gearing up for another White House run.
DeSantis, who was first elected in 2018, filed paperwork to officially kick off his gubernatorial re-election campaign. His term expires in January of 2023.
While filing for re-election does not prevent DeSantis from running for president in 2024, many will see this as a strong indication that he’s planning to continue his leadership role in the Sunshine State.
“Florida’s future is on the line, & we have too much to lose to stop now. I’ve fought like hell to keep FL free & I can tell you this: I’ve only begun to fight! Election Day is exactly 1 year away & freedom is on the ballot. Let’s do this,” DeSantis tweeted.
Florida's future is on the line, & we have too much to lose to stop now. I've fought like hell to keep FL free & I can tell you this: I've only begun to fight!
Election Day is exactly 1 year away & freedom is on the ballot. Let’s do this. #KeepFloridaFreehttps://t.co/Q31iX1N4qU
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantisFL) November 8, 2021
Will Donald Trump run for president in 2024 or will he sit back and play kingmaker?
It’s still unclear what Trump will do, but DeSantis did appear to dispel rumors recently when asked about a possible 2024 run.
DeSantis said back in late September that he was not considering a run for president in 2024 that could pit him against Trump in the Republican primary.
“All the speculation about me [running for president] is purely manufactured,” DeSantis told reporters. “I just do my job and we work hard… I hear all this stuff and honestly, it’s nonsense.”
DeSantis is polling a distant second to Trump among Republicans, 67% to 10% in the latest survey.
Breitbart reported:
DeSantis’s remark follows a series of polls showing the governor in the top tier in hypothetical 2024 Republican primary matchups.
An Emerson College survey released last week, for example, showed both Trump and DeSantis standing as the only two GOP candidates garnering double-digit support — 67 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
When Trump is taken out of the scenario, DeSantis takes a commanding lead, garnering 32 percent to former Vice President Mike Pence’s 24 percent and Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) 13 percent.
Trump is beginning to edge ahead of Joe Biden in a hypothetical 2024 presidential election matchup.
A recent survey released by Emerson College found that Trump is now President Biden 47% to 46%.
For Trump to make such a political comeback after what happened in the 2020 election cycle is incredible.
“Historically, this data reminds me of 1912 when Teddy Roosevelt failed to win the Republican nomination from then-President Taft and created a third party dooming the Republican chances against Woodrow Wilson,” Spencer Kimball, Director of Emerson College Polling, said in a statement.
“This data suggests that Republicans want either Trump or a Trumpian candidate to be their nominee, or half of them may split from the party,” he added.
