The question of whether Ron DeSantis would one day seek the office of president of the United States was likely settled on Election Night 2022, when he scored an overwhelming victory to secure a second term as governor of Florida. The only remaining query, absent a change of heart, was whether he would take the plunge in 2024, 2028, or beyond. However, Liberty Nation has learned DeSantis is beginning the process of hiring from within the ranks of his gubernatorial campaign staff for a presidential run in 2024.

This revelation does not necessarily represent a sure-fire, dead-cinch lock that the newest star in the conservative constellation has made a final decision to challenge former President Donald Trump and perhaps others for the GOP nomination. It is possible, for example, that he is assembling a staff in the event he does finally decide to run. But if he follows through, it would hardly be a shocking decision. After all, DeSantis has demonstrated wildly popular leadership while transforming his politically crucial state into a conservative sanctuary. At the same time, he has stolen center stage in the national culture war, well beyond the level of someone whose ambitions are limited to his own state. And there is another reliable sign that he is planning to run for president: He just announced the February release of his new book, The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival. Not much ambiguity there.