DeSantis’ live 2024 announcement on Twitter: what to expect, how to tune in
Editor’s note: At 2:24 p.m. EST, Ron DeSantis filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for president, making his run official.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis will announce his 2024 presidential candidacy this evening, a long-anticipated announcement since his reelection landslide victory in 2022.
DeSantis is going with a novel and unconventional announcement route, using Twitter’s “Spaces” live chat platform to announce his candidacy.
Where: On “Twitter Spaces,” the social media website’s live podcasting platform.
Who: Elon Musk will be joining DeSantis for the live interview. Entrepreneur and investor David Sacks, commonly seen as a confidant of Musk, will also be moderating the discussion.
When: 6 p.m. EST.
How to listen: To tune in directly and easily, create a Twitter account (not required). From there, make sure you’re following Ron DeSantis, Elon Musk and David Sacks on the platform. Typically, those who you follow who participate in any given “space” will appear at the top of the Twitter home screen. The participants will also most likely tweet out the direct-join link.
What to expect: Twitter Spaces is audio-only, so viewers won’t be seeing the Florida governor when he makes the big announcement. It will happen as he embarks on his Miami donor retreat through May 26, where he will officially kick off his campaign fundraising efforts.
Why Musk? The big tech billionaire has over 140 million followers on Twitter and since his purchase of the platform, some of his comments and opinions have driven some news coverage of particular topics. He also previously said he would support a DeSantis 2024 candidacy, however, will reportedly not be endorsing either former President Donald Trump nor DeSantis Wednesday night.
Buildup: DeSantis’ presidential run was speculated for around half-a-year, since November 2022 when his landslide victory turned heads in the Trump campaign who saw the Florida governor as an increasing primary threat, winning the traditionally purple state by almost 20 points.
Trump kicked off the months-long heightening battle with the nickname “Ron DeSanctimonious” shortly before the 2022 midterms, nicknames only evolving from there.
Perhaps the most likely hint that DeSantis intended to seek the Oval Office was late-November 2022, when the governor’s “blueprint for America’s revival” book was announced to be releasing on Feb. 28.
Then, in March, a pro-Trump super PAC filed an ethics complaint alleging a “shadow presidential campaign” in violation of Federal Election Commission regulations. The governor had been traveling, and planning to travel, across the country to give campaign-style speeches about the “Florida Blueprint.”
The complaint was ultimately dismissed.
Moving forward: DeSantis’ full 2024 strategy is not fleshed out yet, but NBC News reported DeSantis won’t go “scorched earth against Trump” in his primary challenge.
Here and there, the Florida governor has taken infrequent and low-key shots at the former president, such as Trump’s comments on a six-week abortion ban that was signed by DeSantis or Trump’s “Operation Warp Speed” that the governor said “trump[ed] informed consent” when it comes to vaccines.
Polls: While it’s early, Trump’s campaign frequently brags of their massive national and state polling lead, in most cases. According to the RealClearPolitics average, Trump is at around 60% support, a 36.9 point lead over DeSantis, who hovers around 20% support before the announcement.
How the primary plays out: The first debates come up later this summer, and the primaries take place in individual states. First, Iowa Republican members will meet in 2024’s caucuses to give delegates. In 2016, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, won 8 delegates, Trump 7 and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., 7. The caucus is an early indicator of how successful a candidate is expected to be.
From there, the first official primary state – where voters go to the polls and choose a candidate – is New Hampshire,
After that other early states like Nevada and South Carolina will hold their primaries.
Super Tuesday takes place on March 5, when around a third of all party delegates can be won in a single night.
More primaries will continue to take place across the U.S. after that, with Florida’s being on March 19.
The Republican National Convention will then be held from July 15 to 18, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the party will formally select its nominee for president.
