Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces bid for US presidency via Twitter discussion with Elon Musk

Republican’s widely expected decision sets stage for battle over conservative voters with former ally and polling favourite, Donald Trump

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a former US congressman, has trailed only Donald Trump in recent polling of likely Republican voters. Photo: AP

Published: 8:06am, 25 May 2023Updated: 8:59am, 25 May 2023

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis formally declared his candidacy for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination on Wednesday evening over Twitter, pledging to “lead our great American comeback”.

Announcing his decision during a scheduled conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk – which failed to start several times due to technical difficulties – the Republican governor has set the stage for a battle with former US president Donald Trump, the party’s leading candidate for the White House, according to latest polls.

Once he was finally able to speak after Musk set up a second ‘Twitter Spaces’ conversation, DeSantis vowed to “end the culture of losing that has infected the Republican Party in recent years”.

Over 600,000 online users tuned into the first conversation.

By many accounts, the Florida governor is Trump’s closest competitor among what is now a roster of seven declared Republican candidates, including Nikki Haley, a former US ambassador to the United Nations.

Elon Musk and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. File photo: AFP

At 44, DeSantis is the second youngest in the Republican field after entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, 37, who tracks third with Haley and still-undeclared former US vice- president Mike Pence, according to a Harvard University-Harris poll last week.