DeSantis reveals campaign advisers before announcing 2024 candidacy

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantisrevealed his campaign team just hours before his imminent presidential candidacy announcement, scheduled for 6 p.m. EST on Twitter with CEO Elon Musk.

DeSantis’s run for the presidency will be spearheaded by his former gubernatorial run against challenger Charlie Crist in November, but will also include a number of Republican presidential campaign advisers from past campaigns.

To start, DeSantis will be hiring Dustin Carmack, who served as director of national intelligence during the Trump administration to serve as his policy director. 

He also served as the Florida governor's former congressional chief of staff.

David Abrams, who worked on former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s 2016 presidential run and also served New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s former communications director will handle DeSantis’s messaging and campaign advertising initiatives.

He is mostly known for his strong positions on China and has a background working on cybersecurity issues with the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Florida pollster Ryan Tyson and Texas gubernatorial aide Jason Johnson who also worked on Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential and congressional and campaigns, will both serve as a senior advisers.

Meanwhile, the upcoming campaign’s chief technology officer slot will be filled by Carl Seusa, widely credited for building the WinRed digital fundraising platform that collected more than $1 billion for Republican candidates in 2020.

One familiar face to the press will be Bryan Griffin who got into online duels with reporters as the governor’s DeSantis’ 2022 election press secretary.

Griffin will also serve as press secretary for the DeSantis presidential campaign while Lauren Lifstrom, who was in charge of finances for Ted Cruz’s 2016 campaign, will oversee finances,

DeSantis’ presidential campaign has been highly anticipated by many Republicans. While he is still behind in the polls with a gap to reach former President Donald Trump, some expect the Florida governor to be the dark horse in the 2024 race.

DeSantis is scheduled to announce his candidacy during a Twitter Spaces appearance with Elon Musk at 6 p.m. and then he will grant an interview to Mark Levin on his radio show.