Ron DeSantis officially files for reelection in 2022
Ron DeSantis. Image via Twitter.

DeSantis
No surprise here, but the move is significant.

Ron DeSantis has officially filed for reelection to a second term as Florida Governor.

Multiple sources confirmed to Florida Politics that the Governor on Friday submitted his candidacy paperwork. He showed up in the Division of Elections list of 2022 candidates early Monday with Nancy Watkins serving as his campaign treasurer.

An official campaign kickoff is still forthcoming.

“Just stay tuned,” DeSantis said at a Monday press conference on separate issues. “It’s more of a formality to open a campaign committee. We won’t do any public announcements until after the Special Session, but you have to prepare for these things.”

DeSantis enters the field facing three significant Democratic opponents, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, and Sen. Annette Taddeo. But he goes into this election in a significantly stronger position than he enjoyed when he first ran for Governor in 2018.

Then, DeSantis faced an uphill battle in the Republican Primary against then-Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who had spent a decade preparing to run. But DeSantis rocketed ahead of Putnam after receiving the endorsement of then-President Donald Trump.

In the General Election, he squared off against then-Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum as the Democratic nominee, who quickly grew a national profile and network of support. DeSantis ultimately won the Governor’s race by a 32,463-vote margin, about 0.4% of more than 8 million votes cast and an amount confirmed after a state-mandated machine recount.

Today, DeSantis comes in with his own national profile, which has grown substantially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past two years, he has built a following for his largely hands-off approach to business and personal restrictions. Many expect if he wins reelection for that to set the stage for a presidential run in 2024.

The past three years have also seen Florida Republicans catch up to — and surpass —  Democrats in voter registrations.

That said, polls have shown he could face a tight race again against either Crist or Fried.

His political committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis, has raised money at an astonishing rate over the past year, pulling in $5.2 million in September alone. As of the beginning of October, the committee held more than $58.3 million in cash on hand, and it is expected to report further growth when October reports publish later this week.

That’s before DeSantis raises a dime for his official campaign account, which can start cashing checks today.

DeSantis’ campaign staff is expected to include Heather Barker, one of the Governor’s top fundraisers. Barker previously oversaw fundraising at the political committee. In her new role as a senior adviser, she will still have a hand in fundraising, but she will also be involved in overall strategy, sources close to the campaign told Florida Politics late last month.

Generra Peck is expexted to run day-to-day operations for DeSantis ’22, possibly as campaign manager. Peck is president of Pathway Public Affairs, the firm where DeSantis senior adviser Phil Cox is a partner.

DeSantis first won election to the U.S. House in 2012. He resigned his seat in Congress after securing the Republican nomination for Governor in 2018.

One challenge in DeSantis’ personal life now, his wife, Casey, likely will have a less prominent role on the campaign trail as she fights breast cancer. At a Monday press conference, he did say he and his wife continue to feel uplifted by support in the wake of her diagnosis.

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].


9 comments

  • Ron Ogden

    November 8, 2021 at 10:32 am

    Files for election?! Shoot. Coronation is more like it.

  • Charles

    November 8, 2021 at 10:34 am

    Very pleased
    Be of the best governors in the entire country.
    Just waiting for liberal clowns like Jackassery Joe Henderson to pile on

  • L.G. Swift

    November 8, 2021 at 10:40 am

    Satan is in control of this world.

    • Captain Howdy

      November 8, 2021 at 11:02 am

      Yes, that’s correct. Ain’t it grand? Of course, if you are dissatisfied with the management, you can leave.

    • Impeach Biden

      November 8, 2021 at 11:25 am

      Let me guess you think Biden is doing a great job. How about those energy prices? And the Energy Secretary laughs it off. Complete incompetence with Dementia Joe and his staff. Save us DeSantis. You are our only hope.

      • Evan

        November 8, 2021 at 11:31 am

        Preach it.

      • Ocean Joe

        November 8, 2021 at 12:29 pm

        Unemployment at 4.6%, stock market at an all time high, inflation related to supply problems and pent up demand need to be solved, bringing covid to heel will accelerate the recovery, so what do you guys do? File suit to stop vaccinations and scream about CRT. And Sleepy Joe is the demented one? Actually the last two years of Reagan were demented, but you were OK with it. Nancy ran the show.

  • BobN

    November 8, 2021 at 1:17 pm

    Not even a peep about all the needless deaths?

    “Strong position” indeed…

    • zhombre

      November 9, 2021 at 9:28 am

      Most of the needless deaths occurred in nursing homes in states run by Dems like Cuomo, Murphy and Widmer.

Comments are closed.


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