Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis kicked off his presidential campaign in earnest on Tuesday evening, striking a more personal note during a speech in Iowa.
“I was a blue-collar kid growing up. My mom was a nurse. My father worked for Nielsen television ratings,” DeSantis told those who had gathered at Eternity Church in Clive, a suburb of Des Moines, to hear the Republican candidate speak. “I was given nothing. I had to earn what I got. I worked minimum-wage jobs just to get through school.”
DeSantis also invited his wife, Casey, to the stage, where she delivered anecdotes about their children — and the struggles they face raising them while leading the state.
“If you’re wondering why my voice is a little bit hoarse, well, it’s because I’ve been negotiating with a 3-year-old all day today as to why they cannot color with a permanent marker on the dining room table, or in the bathroom or on the state wallpaper in the Governor’s Mansion,” she said.
DeSantis focused much of his speech, which lasted under an hour, on what he described as the failures of the Biden administration and Democrats in Washington.
“Our country is going in the wrong direction,” he said to the crowd, who cheered and waved signs throughout the event.
He touted his record as governor while attacking President Joe Biden as he looked to woo voters in the key early-voting state.
The in-person event had the air of a rally — a stark contrast to DeSantis’ online campaign launch last week. That announcement — conducted as a Q&A during a Twitter Spaces session with the outlet’s owner, Elon Musk, and venture capitalist David Sacks — was marred by technical difficulties.
In the days following the botched launch, DeSantis went on a media blitz, trumpeting both his campaign talking points and an explanation for the Twitter troubles.
“We had a huge audience, it did — it was the biggest they ever had. It did break the Twitter space, and so we are really excited with the enthusiasm,” he said during an interview on Fox News.
The glitchy rollout did not appear to affect DeSantis’ fundraising efforts, however. His campaign boasted an $8.2 million fundraising haul within the 24 hours following the event.
But the conservative governor is still lagging behind former President Donald Trump in the polls. And the already-crowded — and likely growing — GOP field isn’t helping.
Though the other Republican candidates have largely avoided criticizing Trump, they’ve eagerly dumped on DeSantis. Trump himself has turned nearly all of his attention to the field’s newest entrant, launching a relentless barrage of attacks against DeSantis on social media.