MIAMI — Ron DeSantis and his allies worked to build momentum ahead of a long-expected presidential campaign launch on Wednesday — rolling out endorsements, sleek videos and the image of an alligator lurking just beneath the water on his campaign website.
It was an awkward start to a campaign that had already hit numerous roadblocks this spring, even as many Republicans still view DeSantis as the most formidable primary challenger to Donald Trump. The online event beset with technical problems drew ridicule from DeSantis critics in both parties.
The governor plowed ahead with a pitch that casts him as the antidote to Republicans’ disappointing election losses — an implicit rebuke of Trump, whom many in the GOP blamed for their poor showing in the midterms last fall. “There is no substitute for victory,” DeSantis said. “We must end the culture of losing that has infected the Republican Party in recent years. The tired dogmas of the past are inadequate for a vibrant future. We must look forward, not backwards.”
In a Fox News interview shortly after, DeSantis sought to put a positive spin on the situation. “We had a huge audience. … It did break the Twitter space, and so we’re really excited with the enthusiasm,” he said. On Twitter, DeSantis’s team directed their fans to WinRed, the fundraising platform, asking supporters: “What can we break next?”
The governor’s entrance comes after some upheaval in the Republican primary. Trump, the former president, has strengthened his position since the start of the year, even as he faces increasing legal peril. Other Republicans have entered the race, but all are mired in single digits and have failed to make a dent in Trump’s commanding polling lead. And the Florida governor is trying to regain his footing after falling well behind Trump, even as he has maintained a clear grip on second place.
DeSantis, 44, became a GOP star as a first-term governor who derided pandemic-driven shutdowns and vaccine mandates and cast himself as an enemy of what he calls “woke ideology” in the news media, major companies such as Walt Disney and schools, where he has worked to restrict discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity.
His landslide reelection in November stood in stark contrast to Republicans’ underwhelming performance nationwide, intensifying GOP doubts about Trump’s viability in 2024 and elevating DeSantis as a possible new standard-bearer for the party. Since then, he has pushed Florida policy to the right with a crackdown on undocumented immigrants, a strict new abortion ban and other dramatic moves that have made his candidacy particularly alarming to Democrats and some civil rights leaders. He signed a bill Wednesday that allows him to run for president while still serving as governor and puts new restrictions on how third-party registration groups operate.
Aided by GOP supermajorities in both chambers of the Florida legislature, DeSantis has racked up policy victories that excite the conservative base — but also stoked concerns among some donors and prominent Republicans that he is picking fights that will alienate more moderate voters. Some have also voiced doubts about his retail politics skills.
