After months of buildup and speculation, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis officially filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday to run for President of the United States.
DeSantis is expected to formally announce his candidacy on Twitter at 6 p.m. He’s expected to hold a virtual conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
Following that announcement, he will participate in his first national TV interview with Fox News’ Trey Gowdy Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on “Fox News Tonight.”
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For months, DeSantis has been considered a top Republican contender for the 2024 presidential election, behind former President Donald Trump and ahead of the rest of the field of actual and likely candidates in nearly every GOP primary poll.
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The filing coincides with his meeting this week with top financial backers.
Filing with the FEC allows DeSantis to directly solicit contributions from top donors and bundlers he is huddling with on Thursday in Miami.
By filing and announcing his candidacy for president, DeSantis will be joining an already crowded field of Republican candidates, including former President Donald Trump, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, businessman Perry Johnson and conservative radio host Larry Elder.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.