Florida Congressman Ron DeSantis, a member of the Republican Party and a strong ally of President Donald Trump, has officially joined the race for the White House in 2020.
DeSantis’ announcement, which came via a YouTube video and Twitter on Wednesday, was marred by a chaotic launch in which his campaign website, RonForPresident.com, was initially directing people to a Democratic political action committee.
The campaign quickly fixed the issue and tweeted an updated link to the website. However, the initial website snafu was heavily criticized by Democrats and political analysts, who argued that it showed a lack of organization and foresight.
Aside from the website issue, DeSantis’ announcement also did not generate much enthusiasm from the Republican Party. While the Party did tweet a supportive message, the response was noticeably mild compared to when other candidates, like former Massachusetts Governor William Weld, announced their campaigns.
The lack of enthusiasm from the Party likely comes from DeSantis’ strong pro-Trump stance. Given that Trump is likely to be the Republican Party’s nominee in 2020, other potential Republican candidates are unlikely to receive support from the Party if they are seen as posing a challenge to the president.