Governor of Florida Ron De Sandys announced his nomination for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race.

De Sandys filed all the required paperwork, marking the start of his campaign, just ahead of a scheduled online discussion with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. His candidacy opens a new chapter in his rise from obscure MP to two-term governor. Now both his national appeal and his party popularity will be tested by former President Donald Trump.

Last November, the 44-year-old Florida governor won a landslide election victory, 19 points ahead of his opponent.

He earned his reputation by challenging COVID-19 containment policies by rejecting lockdowns and mandatory vaccinations. In last year’s midterms, many Trump-backed candidates failed to get elected, but the Trump-DeSandis rivalry appeared to be in favor of Florida’s governor, with many voters calling him a politically viable alternative to Trump at the time.

However, the toughening of De Sandys’ rhetoric is questioned by some of the party’s big sponsors. Some of them questioned in private debate his views on social and cultural issues, such as the legal ban on abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy, which he promoted.

Thomas Peterfay, a major Republican donor and founder of Interactive Brokers, said last month that he had suspended his donations to the De Sandy campaign in part because of the governor’s stance on abortion. Ken Griffin, founder of hedge fund Citadel, has also reportedly “frozen” his support for DeSandis.