NBC’s Dasha Burns is reporting tonight that Governor DeSantis is on the verge of announcing a run for president, which would put him head to head with Trump.
The short of it is that his political operation is about to move into a new location and that would force him to file a form which would acknowledge he’s running for president.
Tick…tick…boom?
On Monday, DeSantis' political op is set to move into its new HQ… long story (below) short this means he must file paperwork w/ the FEC within 15 days…
Thus acknowledging publicly for the first time that he's running for president.https://t.co/TpGMiAVp8M— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) May 13, 2023
Here’s the long story:
The clock is about to begin ticking down on Ron DeSantis’ presidential announcement.
On Monday, the Florida governor’s political operation is set to move into its new base of operations, which will trigger disclosure requirements with federal officials.
The DeSantis political operation is currently housed in downtown Tallahassee, but staffers are set to make a short move to a new downtown location that will serve as a more official campaign home, according to a source familiar with the campaign’s plans, as well as another person knowledgeable about the move.
That move will require the not-yet-filed campaign to spend more than $5,000 and, under Federal Election Commission guidelines, when someone running for federal office spends more than $5,000, they are required to register, file financial reports and designate a principal campaign committee.
Functionally, the office move will require DeSantis to file paperwork with federal election officials within 15 days, thus acknowledging publicly for the first time that he is running for president.
“The DeSantis team has been housed at the Florida GOP building since the re-elect,” said a veteran Republican consultant. “They are gearing up to move out soon. In moving, they would be spending funds and [it] most likely would force them to file a ‘Form 1‘ with the FEC, which would force an announcement sooner rather than later.”
“This move kicks off the countdown,” according to a source close to DeSantis’ political operation. “Hard to see how you turn back after that.”
A DeSantis spokesperson declined to comment.
There is the possibility that he’s not running for federal office and thus wouldn’t have to file the form. But I think we all know that isn’t very likely.
Once the move happens he’ll have to file within 15 days, which means we should be hearing an announcement from DeSantis very soon.