Ron DeSantis reportedly planning first steps of campaign launch for mid-May

Ron DeSantis is slowly working his way towards a presidential campaign, and plans to launch an official exploratory committee in the upcoming months, according to those around him.

GOP operatives with knowledge of the governor’s plans told NBC News on Wednesday that the DeSantis campaign will take its first real steps towards reality in May with the launch of an exploratory committee — a small group designed to gauge support within the party for the governor’s eventual run. Such a move puts him far behind the campaigns of other Republican 2024 hopefuls like Donald Trump, Nikki Haley and Tim Scott, who are all at various stages of building up support in early primary states.

But Mr DeSantis has one advantage that is unique to him and Donald Trump — a comfortable polling lead that places him firmly in second place, regardless of the status of his campaign. The Florida governor has consistently been the only Republican to register double-digit levels of support when matched up against Donald Trump, though he still trails the former president by a large margin.

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