ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis has officially filed to run for re-election in 2022.
According to the Florida Department of State’s candidate list for the 2022 general election, the Republican governor filed to run in next November’s election on Friday.
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He was asked about his re-election bid during a Monday morning news conference in Zephyrhills.
“Well, we are going to put something out a little bit later, so just stay tuned,” DeSantis said. “I mean, it’s more of a formality, you know, to open up a campaign committee. We’re not going to be doing really anything in terms of public announcements until after the legislative session, but you know, you got to prepare for these things, and so we’re off and doing that.”
DeSantis is the early favorite to beat out the other 15 candidates looking to unseat him.
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Former Florida governor and now U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, both Democrats, are the two candidates with the highest profiles.
According to a recent poll reported by The Hill, DeSantis holds comfortable leads over his top Democratic opponents.
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The poll, conducted by the firm VCreek/AMG for Americas PAC, shows DeSantis with 47% support in a head-to-head match-up against Crist and 48% percent in a match-up against Fried.
DeSantis has a big lead in the money race too.
The committee Friends of Ron DeSantis had about $58.3 million in cash on hand as of Sept. 30 and raised $51.4 million during the first nine months of the year, according to a finance report. The committee Friends of Charlie Crist had about $2.1 million on hand as of Sept. 30, while Crist’s campaign account had about $724,000. The Fried committee, known as Florida Consumers First had about $2.38 million on hand as of Sept. 30, while Fried’s campaign had $665,000.
DeSantis is also seen as a potential contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, but he has not made it official.