After months of traveling the country and teasing his long-anticipated campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has officially filed to run for president. New documents submitted to the Federal Election Commission establish the DeSantis for President Committee, kicking off a competition between DeSantis and Donald Trump, whose determination to retake the Republican nomination—and the White House—has already overshadowed the party’s primary. DeSantis, who has used his Florida office to cast himself as an anti-woke crusader, will join a field that, so far, includes challengers like Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson, and Nikki Haley. Though DeSantis has polled above other candidates, he still lags far behind Trump in popularity—and he’s slipping. Meanwhile, he remains mired in a legal dispute with Disney over his attempts to take control of the company’s special district in central Florida. He’s expected to formally announce the run in a Twitter Space alongside Elon Musk later Wednesday.
