Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will unveil an exploratory committee for the 2024 presidential election around mid-May, with an official campaign launch to follow soon after, sources told NBC News this week.
NBC noted that some DeSantis supporters have pushed the governor to make the announcement as early as possible in order to offset the impression that former President Donald Trump is the clear front-runner for the Republican nomination, with some suggesting May 11 as the date for the announcement. However, others close to DeSantis said this would be too soon, according to NBC.
When asked about NBC News' reporting during a press conference in Israel on Thursday, DeSantis said: "There's not been anything set. I've been focused on this mission that we've been doing.
"We're going to end up making it pretty much around the world by the time we're done. And if there's any announcements, you know, those will come at the appropriate time, but it's not — if anyone's telling you that somehow they know this or they know that, that's just inaccurate, because there's not been any decisions."
The Guardian reported that DeSantis has begun assembling a campaign team, which would be headed by his top political adviser, Generra Peck. Sources told the newspaper that the leadership team includes various advisers who have previously worked for the governor, including Republican pollster Ryan Tyson and DeSantis' former congressional chief of staff Dustin Carmack. A spokesperson for DeSantis declined to comment when contacted by the Guardian.