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The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, is touring the country laying the groundwork for what Republican sources describe as an increasingly likely presidential candidacy for 2028, as revealed this Tuesday by the New York Post.
The 47-year-old leader kicked off the week by participating in the global conference of the Milken Institute in Beverly Hills alongside business leaders, and is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the New York Republican Party's annual gala on May 19 at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.
When directly asked if he would run for president, DeSantis kept the door open without making a commitment: "I'm in my mid-40s. On the 28th, you know, maybe beyond that, I think there’s still a lot of time. Who knows? You never know."
The response was a prelude to what sounded like a campaign speech, in which the governor listed his achievements while in office in Florida: "Who took a state that had 300,000 more Democrats than Republicans when he was elected in 2018, and now has 1.5 million more Republicans? Who had a state with a one trillion dollar economy and now has 1.8 trillion? Who has a state with the lowest crime rate in 50 years? We have a good story to tell."
The Republican sources consulted by the New York newspaper have no doubts about his intentions: "It has not been a secret that is circulating. I believe DeSantis fully thinks he can win. He would definitely be among the top two in Iowa," said a Republican operative who frequently works in Florida.
However, the road will not be easy. Some of Trump's allies are eagerly anticipating a rematch: "Team Trump is eager to take down DeSantis once again," warned a veteran Trump operative.
DeSantis reaches this new stage after the failure of his 2024 campaign, when he withdrew from the presidential race on January 21, 2024, two days before the New Hampshire primaries, after finishing a distant second in the Iowa caucus with only 21% of the votes compared to Trump's 51%.
Since then, the governor has worked to mend that relationship: he played golf with Trump in February and March, signed legislation to rename the West Palm Beach airport in honor of the president, and facilitated the construction of Trump's presidential library in Miami.
This Monday took another significant step by signing the controversial new electoral map of Florida that is expected to grant the Republicans four additional seats in Congress in the upcoming midterm elections in November, offsetting a likely loss of four districts in Virginia.
Her former national spokesperson, Carly Bird, described her political proposal this way: "Her lane is: the most competent and effective governor in the history of our nation, consistently fulfilling every promise she makes."
The outlook for 2028 is, nonetheless, very competitive. The polls place Vance and Rubio at the forefront of the Republican race, with Vice President JD Vance leading with 53% in the survey conducted by the Conservative Political Action Conference in March, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio climbing to 35%.
DeSantis, on the other hand, barely reaches 8% as the top choice among Republicans and independents close to the party, according to a September 2025 survey.
A former advisor to the governor summarized the challenge accurately: "It's JD's race to lose right now. That said, there are a million news cycles between today and a primary, and anything can happen with a coalition that shows cracks."
DeSantis's term as governor expires in January 2027, which will free him to fully commit to a presidential campaign, although he could potentially take a position in Trump's cabinet beforehand, with the Secretary of Defense mentioned among the options.
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