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Ron DeSantis, the governor of the US State of Florida has now declared his republican nomination for the 2024 Presidential Election. He\u2019s the latest in a line of republican contenders keen to take on President Joe Biden for the White House.

Since his appointment as Florida\u2019s governor in 2018, Ron DeSantis has been busy stamping his own brand of cultural conservatism on the \u2018Sunshine State\u2019, including limits on abortions and restricting sex and gender identity education in schools. The latter, known officially as the Parental Rights In Education Act\u2019, denounced by critics as \u2018Don\u2019t Say Gay\u2019, has led to an ongoing legal battle with Disney over their criticism of the Act.

Ron DeSantis claims that his \u2018Florida Blueprint\u2019 can act as a guide for Federal Policies. But before that, he\u2019s got an uphill battle to unseat his former political mentor Donald Trump. The former President is currently leading the Republican field in the polls and he\u2019s not wasted any time in attacking Ron DeSantis on a number of fronts, from insults and nicknames, to criticising some of his policies.

This week on the Inquiry we\u2019re asking \u2018Can Ron DeSantis win the White House?\u2019

Contributors: \nAubrey Jewett, Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida, Orlando.\nMatt Terrill, Public Affairs, Firehouse Strategies, former Chief of Staff to the Marco Rubio for President Campaign. \nRon Christie, Former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and North American Political Analyst for the BBC.\nDr. Julie Norman, Co-Director of the Centre on US Politics at University College London.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett\nProducer: Jill Collins\nResearcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty \nEditor: Tara McDermott \nTechnical Producer: Kelly Young\nProduction Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

(Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library March 5 2023 Simi Valley, California. Credit: Mario Tarna/Getty Images)