WASHINGTON – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is eyeing the first two weeks of June to formally jump into the 2024 US presidential race, according to sources familiar with the deliberations, as his long-expected bid shows signs of sputtering before its official launch.

Advisers are considering a campaign kick-off in his home town of Dunedin – or in Ohio or Pennsylvania, swing states where he has family ties, according to the sources.

The timing of the formal announcement is critical, with Mr DeSantis’ poll numbers falling and donors losing confidence that he is the best Republican candidate. 

Polls show Mr DeSantis and former president Donald Trump as the front runners of the Grand Old Party (GOP), as the Republican Party is known. Trump has relentlessly attacked his rival in recent weeks, aiming to deliver an early knockout blow, and sowing doubts about whether Mr DeSantis can win the primary.

“Good governor,” billionaire New York donor John Catsimatidis told Bloomberg News. “Lacks the skills to be president.”

Mr Catsimatidis previously said he ruled out supporting Mr DeSantis because he did not return phone calls.

“I think he should stay governor,” said Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, who was close to Mr DeSantis but now backs Trump. “If I got to pick a brain surgeon, I’m choosing the one with a lot of experience over the one with a lot of promise.”

In Mr DeSantis’ insular, tight-knit world, there are signs the team is organising despite the setbacks. 

Never Back Down, the super political action committee (PAC) supporting Mr DeSantis, recently added former Nevada attorney-general Adam Laxalt, one of the governor’s closest friends, as chair.

Mr DeSantis’ advisers said the move, first reported by Semafor, was long-planned. The two roomed together during naval officer training and have supported each other’s political careers. Mr Laxalt did not respond to a request for comment. 

Fund-raiser Heather Barker, one of Mr DeSantis’ longest-serving advisers, also recently moved to the super PAC. The group said it has raised US$30 million (S$40 million) so far, but US$20 million came from a single donor, showing a lack of broad financial support.

A DeSantis spokesman declined to comment.

Rigid timeline

Mr DeSantis used the release of his memoir in February to deliver speeches and book talks, including in early voting states Iowa and New Hampshire. And he just completed a tour of Britain, Japan, South Korea and Israel intended to burnish his foreign policy credentials.

But he has long intended to formally announce his entry to the presidential race once the Florida legislature wraps up in the first week of May. The goal has been to pass conservative agenda items on guns, abortion and ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing that he can later tout on the campaign trail. 

The governor and his aides believe sticking to their plans, settled on months ago, will allow them to avoid being distracted by Trump or the daily news cycle. 

Critics argue the approach has prevented Mr DeSantis from being politically nimble as his polling dropped and Trump attacked his record. The DeSantis team often comes across as surprised to see Trump locking up support among GOP lawmakers and others in early voting states.

In New Hampshire on Thursday, Trump said Mr DeSantis is “crashing and burning” and suggested he himself was so far ahead in GOP polls that he would most likely skip the primary debates – signalling that he is already pivoting to running against President Joe Biden.

“The primary attraction of Ron DeSantis is the idea of Ron DeSantis – a Trump without all of Trump’s boogers, to use a technical term,” joked Mr Mac Stipanovich, a long-time Republican lobbyist in Tallahassee, who is now a registered independent.

“But the reality is much different. It is not Donald Trump without the baggage. It is a totally different person.”

Retail politics

Mr DeSantis has stumbled and appeared defensive when reporters ask expected questions about his political ambitions. And the team has been slow to respond to Trump attacks on everything from his record on Social Security and Medicare to a claim that Mr DeSantis ate pudding with his fingers. 

His administration is also contending with a lawsuit from the Walt Disney Company in a long-running feud between the governor and one of his state’s largest employers.

Political operatives are watching how Mr DeSantis engages with donors and voters, as the 2024 field becomes more crowded. Trump has stepped up his own retail politicking, embracing events he used to avoid. 

Mr DeSantis has a reputation as an effective governor, but one who does not excel at small talk or one-to-one encounters. His team is trying to counter that impression, having him mingle and take selfies after a recent GOP dinner in New Hampshire.

“DeSantis strikes me as a smart guy but not dripping with charisma,” said Mr Benjamin Bolger, a teaching fellow at Harvard who attended the recent GOP Amos Tuck Dinner in Manchester, New Hampshire, paying a few hundred dollars extra to meet Mr DeSantis personally and take a photo with him.

“My money would be on Trump. I am only one guy, but I would say: Counting Trump out would be a big mistake.”

At the same dinner, Dr Peter Chamberland, pastor of Granite State Baptist Church, said he supported Trump in 2020 but had an open mind on 2024.

“I believe Governor DeSantis is doing a good job in Florida on the economy,” Dr Chamberland said. “My mind is not made up. I have not seen all of the official candidates.” BLOOMBERG