Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is inching closer to making a decision to run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, The Hill is reporting.
It appears almost certain he will seek his party's nomination, sources tell the outlet. Any formal campaign launch, however, will likely come after the state legislature completes its regular session in May, and one Republican source noted he could hold off announcing until August or September.
But his advisers have already begun talking to potential campaign hires and are discussing the best time for DeSantis to announce his presidential bid. Those advisers include Phil Cox and Generra Peck, two veteran DeSantis campaign aides, according to The Hill.
"I think his mind is pretty much made up at this point," a Republican insider said. "My read on it is: Let's get through session, get some stuff done and see where things stand. But unless something changes drastically between now and then, I'd say he's a go."
And one Republican said DeSantis "needs to seize the opportunity now because who knows what things will look like down the road? He has the momentum now."
DeSantis leads former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2024 GOP race, but his support would wane if former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley should join the primary battle, according to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll released Wednesday.
The Yahoo/YouGov poll, which chronicled the opinions of 1,585 U.S. adults from Feb. 2-6, shows that more Republican voters would side with DeSantis [45%] than Trump [41%] in a one-on-one matchup, if the Republican primary was held today.
However, in a hypothetical three-way matchup, Haley attracted 11% support from Republicans and Republican-leaning voters, compared to 38% for Trump and 35% for DeSantis.