By Trend

Republican Ron DeSantis was re-elected governor of Florida on Tuesday, Edison Research projected, setting him up for a possible presidential run in 2024, Trend reports citing Reuters.

DeSantis, who won office by less than half a percentage point four years ago, easily defeated Democratic challenger Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor who switched parties and won a congressional seat as a Democrat.

DeSantis, 44, is widely expected to seek the Republican nomination for the White House in 2024. That likelihood has already drawn the ire of Republican former President Donald Trump, 76.

Democrats are fighting to keep control of governorships in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to maintain the power to veto any legislation by the Republican-controlled legislatures that might curb abortion rights and voting access.

Republican victories in those presidential battleground states and Arizona could have implications for the 2024 White House election. The party's nominees have embraced Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.