Ron DeSantis declares 2024 candidacy in glitchy Twitter Spaces event
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Ron DeSantis in a campaign video announcing his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis officially filed paperwork Wednesday to seek the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election and announced his candidacy via Twitter.
Why it matters: DeSantis — widely seen as former President Trump's most serious challenger — made a name for himself challenging COVID protocols and pursuing an aggressive conservative agenda on race, gender and education in the state of Florida after easily winning re-election in 2022.
State of play: He formally announced his run Wednesday evening, notably during a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk instead of on Fox News — after months of speculation about his ambitions.
- The Twitter Spaces event got off to a rough start with an over 20-minute delay after the first link crashed. A second Twitter Spaces was started, but it was interspersed with occasionally dropped audio or disrupted connections for listeners.
- DeSantis will use the various moves he's made in Florida — like fighting Disney, banning critical race theory, restricting discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms, removing a "Soros-prosecutor," and opposing China — as a proposed "blueprint" for conservative policy across the country.
Editor's note: Coverage has concluded for this liveblog.
Who’s in and who’s maybe in for 2024
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign announcement makes him the seventh Republican to formally enter the 2024 presidential race.
The big picture: Former President Trump and President Biden have both announced their 2024 bids, setting up a potential rematch of 2020. A number of Republicans are still expected to enter the contest.
Read more about the candidates who have formally entered the 2024 race — and who may still announce.
Asked how he would carry out his agenda if elected, DeSantis touted his accomplishments as Florida's governor.
- “Even my worst critics in Florida will acknowledge — when I tell people I'm going to do something … I've thought it through and I know that I am going to follow through,” he said.
- “At the end of the day, this whole business that we’re in is about producing results. I don’t care about fanfare,” he said.
- “I am going to make sure that I'm leaning into issues and making an impact and we have done that in the state of Florida and I bring that exact attitude up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”
