TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is officially running for re-election in 2022.
DeSantis announced Monday that he has filed paperwork to seek a second term as Florida's governor.
According to the Florida Division of Elections, DeSantis filed the paperwork Friday.
The Republican incumbent faces several Democratic challengers next year, including former Gov. Charlie Crist, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and state Sen. Annette Taddeo, who served as Crist's running mate in his failed 2014 campaign for governor.
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DeSantis has reportedly been on a shortlist of Republican candidates to pursue a presidential bid in 2024. He defeated former President Donald Trump in a straw poll earlier this year at the Western Conservative Summit, although a Quinnipiac University poll of 889 self-identified registered voters in Florida later found that 59% opposed a DeSantis presidential run.
In all, 16 people have filed paperwork to seek the state's highest office next year, including DeSantis.
The lone Republican looking to unseat DeSantis is John Joseph Mercadante, a Democrat-turned-Republican whose name also appeared on the ballot in 2018.
Eleven of the 16 candidates are Democrats, including Crist, Fried and Taddeo.
Three candidates are listed as independent or having no party affiliation.
