2024 US presidential race: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis launches bid to challenge Donald Trump

2024 US presidential race: DeSantis is considered to be Trump’s strongest Republican rival even as the governor faces questions about his readiness for the national stage. He revealed his decision in a Federal Election Commission filing before an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

Florida Governoe Ron DeSantis entered the 2024 presidential race on May 24, stepping into a crowded Republican primary contest that will test both his national appeal as an outspoken cultural conservative and the GOP’s willingness to move on from former President Donald Trump.

The Republican candidate, 44, made his choice public in a Federal Election Commission filing before speaking with Twitter CEO Elon Musk online.

It opens a new chapter in his remarkable journey from unknown congressman to two-term governor to a key player in the nation's contentious debates over racial, gender, and other contentious problems. Even while the Governor is questioned about his preparation for the national stage, DeSantis is seen as Trump's strongest Republican adversary.

DeSantis' participation into the Republican race has been predicted for months, and he is one of the party's top contenders to unseat Democratic President Joe Biden from the White House. Republicans claim that the 80-year-old president has taken the country too far to the left while ignoring issues like inflation, immigration, and crime.

The Republican nominee will face Biden on the general election ballot in November 2024.

DeSantis, a native of Florida with Midwesterner ancestry, attended Yale University and played baseball while he was there. After graduating from Harvard Law School, he joined the Navy as a Judge Advocate General officer, a role that sent him to Guantanamo Bay and Iraq. He successfully campaigned for office in 2012, winning a seat in the Orlando region, and went on to become a founding member of the far-right Freedom Caucus on Capitol Hill.