Ron DeSantis to file for New Hampshire primary Thursday
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will file his 2024 bid for New Hampshire's presidential primary on Thursday afternoon, according to his campaign, which claims he'll be the first "major" candidate to file to be on the primary ballot.
However, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who narrowly made the polling and donor requirements to participate in both presidential primary debates, is expected to file Thursday morning, ahead of DeSantis.
New Hampshire radio host Jack Heath first reported DeSantis' filing, which DeSantis plans to do in person at the state house in Concord. He'll be landing in the state for a campaign swing later this week, his first since mid-August. DeSantis has spent the vast majority of his primary campaign in Iowa, having now visited 74 of the state's 99 counties.
"DeSantis' message to reverse America's decline and revive the American Dream is continuing to resonate with voters across New Hampshire. The First in the Nation State will be seeing a lot of him this fall — No one will outwork Ron DeSantis," the DeSantis spokesperson said.
On DeSantis' campaign's claim that the Florida governor would be the first "major" candidate to file in New Hampshire, Burgum press secretary Lance Trover responded, "Sounds like someone's insecurity is starting to show."
DeSantis' filing will take place on the first day the window to do so opens in New Hampshire. Many of his competitors also plan to put their names on the ballot there this week, too. New Hampshire holds the first Republican presidential primary next year, following the Iowa caucuses, which will be held on Jan. 15. New Hampshire hasn't yet set a date for its primary, but it is expected to be before the third GOP primary contests, which are the two sets of caucuses that will take place Feb. 8 in the U.S. Virgin Islands and in Nevada. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence are expected to file on Friday in the Granite State.
DeSantis' last campaign event in New Hampshire was Aug. 19. He has since then been campaigning heavily in Iowa or fundraising in California and Texas. The absence appears to have cost him some ground in a few early presidential primary polls. A CBS News poll from late September shows him at second with 13%, well behind former President Donald Trump (50%). Haley is within the margin of error with DeSantis at 11%. Burgum attracted 2% support.
A Suffolk University/Boston Globe/USA TODAY poll released on Oct. 4 had Haley leading DeSantis by 9 points in New Hampshire. Asked on Tuesday if he has any concerns about how he'll do in the state, DeSantis said his campaign "laid the groundwork" in the state over the summer and that he'll be in the state "a lot" in the fall.
"You wanna peak in New Hampshire at the end of the year, the beginning of next year, you don't want to peak in the summer before. This stuff goes up and down," DeSantis said on New Hampshire radio.
Meanwhile, Haley welcomed the uptick in her New Hampshire polling, and at a Bedford Republican Party event where she spoke, she seemed to find a receptive audience.
New Hampshire voter and military veteran Richard Daigle compared her favorably to DeSantis.
"She'll take any question and turn it around and tell you why she takes the position she does and she is very convincing at doing that. It's not just I did this and I'll do it again…she is very thoughtful and articulative when she comes across, especially in person," Daigle said.
Haley has held nearly 60 grassroots events in New Hampshire across all 10 counties since she launched her campaign in Feb. 15.
Still, Daigle says it's "early in the game" and added, "who knows somebody may show up that we don't even know, it's still pretty early."
The window for candidates to file in New Hampshire begins Thursday, Oct. 11, and the deadline is Oct. 27, according to New Hampshire's secretary of state.