They want Ron off and running.
Faced with uneven polling and with former President Donald Trump racking up endorsements, some of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ key allies want him to declare his presidential candidacy sooner rather than later, according to a report.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — one of three Republican members of Congress to formally endorse DeSantis for the 2024 GOP nomination — has personally urged him to make his run official ASAP, according to the Associated Press.
While most observers expect DeSantis to wait until sometime after the end of Florida’s legislative session May 5 to formalize his candidacy, Massie said the clock is ticking now.
“I would prefer him to be in the race right now. In fact, I encouraged him to get in the race right now,” he said, arguing that further delays could open the door for a Republican dark horse to emerge and poach support from the Florida firebrand.
“Right now, it’s a heads-up race between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis,” Massie added. “The urgency I feel is, the more cats and dogs that get in the race, the more they could siphon from Ron DeSantis.”
On Monday, with DeSantis in Japan for the first stop of a four-nation trade mission, a Republican member of the Florida Legislature told The Post the time has come for a DeSantis declaration.
“It looks and feels a little odd for him to act like a candidate with the trips and the speaking tours without actually being a candidate,” the lawmaker said. “That’s fine for a while, but I don’t think you want to overdo it from an optics standpoint.”
Along with Massie, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) are the only other GOP lawmakers to back DeSantis, 44. By contrast, 11 Republican members of Florida’s congressional delegation have so far endorsed Trump, 76.
Meanwhile, Trump has continued to lob social media mortars at his former ally on a seemingly daily basis, with little return fire from the Florida governor to this point.
For the most part, DeSantis and his aides have studiously ignored his the broadsides, reasoning that his legislative victories on culture war flashpoints would do the talking for now.
Amid their growing acrimony, DeSantis was compelled to issue a statement backing Trump after his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury March 30.
Trump’s arrest aroused renewed support for the former president, with most Republicans viewing the move as a political hit job.
The fanfare of a DeSantis campaign kickoff could also set off a surge in donations to the Florida governor, which have slowed in recent weeks as big-money donors survey the 2024 terrain.
But while Massie and others push for DeSantis to declare as soon as possible, the man himself was in no hurry early this week.
“Governor, polls show you falling behind Trump,” a reporter asked DeSantis in Tokyo. “Any thoughts on that?”
“I’m not a candidate,” the governor responded, “so we’ll see if and when that changes.”
