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Well, now. This whole thing just got interesting.

A former Trump administration official has not only launched a Super PAC to urge Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to enter the 2024 presidential race, but has also begun to put the infrastructure in place, and now sources indicate that the popular governor has already decided if he’ll run.

As reported by Fox News, Ken Cuccinelli, who served in several roles in the Trump administration, is strongly advocating for Ron DeSantis to mount a White House bid, and working to build a base of supporters to help make that potential presidential run a success.

Cuccinelli on Thursday announced the launch of the Never Back Down PAC to achieve those objectives.

Cucinelli previously served as acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and as acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and was a strong advocate for some of Trump’s hardline immigration policies during his tenure in the nation’s capital. Cuccinelli tweeted:

Today I’m launching Never Back Down PAC to encourage @GovRonDeSantis to run for President in 2024. The energy is real. Grassroots conservatives see that Governor DeSantis is a proven leader who can win in 2024.

[…]

Ron DeSantis doesn’t just talk, he acts, but most of all he never backs down. Governor DeSantis, today I’m asking you to run for president. You’ve had our back, now we will have yours.

The energy is real, yes, and the race is going to get real enough, soon — if you know what I mean.

Today I’m launching Never Back Down PAC @Nvrbackdown24 to encourage @GovRonDeSantis to run for President in 2024 🇺🇸

The energy is real. Grassroots conservatives see that Governor DeSantis is a proven leader who can win in 2024. #NeverBackDownhttps://t.co/1VKNweKgq5 pic.twitter.com/OaKq1XJrKr

— Ken Cuccinelli (@KenCuccinelli) March 9, 2023

Cuccinelli said in a press release:

I have been speaking to many grassroots conservative activists around the country who are very enthusiastic for Governor DeSantis to run for President in 2024.

The energy is there, grassroots conservatives see the Governor as a leader and a fighter with a winning conservative track record who will lead the Republican Party to victory in 2024.

Based on those conversations, I am most confident that we will build an unmatched grassroots political army for Governor DeSantis to help carry him to the White House.

Cuccinelli said in one of the videos released that he was “proud” to work for Trump, but he described DeSantis as “the best leader in America today,” adding that if DeSantis wins the White House, “we get eight years of a great president, not just four.”

Trump tries to burn Cuccinelli to a charcoal briquette in 3… 2… 1…

Look, we gotta go there. The 800-pound (or thereabouts) gorilla in the room, I mean.

With Donald Trump already obsessed with the mere prospect of DeSantis entering the race, now a member of his former administration has enthusiastically endorsed DeSantis and is calling for change. The news will surely only lead to Trump increasing his attacks against DeSantis, but here’s the thing: surveys indicate that Trump’s sophomoric attacks against DeSantis are backfiring, as more and more former supporters have become disillusioned with Trump’s nonsense. Look, I’m not talking about hardcore Trump loyalists, OK? As Trump himself bragged in 2016:

I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.

Anyway, as I suggested in the headline, the Washington Post reported on Thursday that DeSantis has indicated privately that he intends to run in 2024, according to two people familiar with his comments. A political committee that seeks to draft the governor into the race launched Thursday and is likely to serve as an approved outside spending vehicle for his campaign, three people familiar with the planning said.

Moreover, DeSantis will visit the early nominating states of Iowa on Friday and Nevada on Saturday as he tours the country promoting his memoir. Right by the book, isn’t it? the memoir, the tour, the announcement. I’m not criticizing, here, mind you — on the contrary.

I’ve written about the behind-the-scenes goings-on relative to a DeSantis run several times, and again, the public and private movements underline how far along DeSantis and his allies have come in their preparation for the 2024 campaign. It’s also my belief that as popular as this guy is in the Sunshine State, Floridians will eagerly cheer him on, rather than complain about his failure to complete his current term as governor.

DeSantis’s allies don’t expect him to announce a run until after the Florida state legislative session ends in May. But to make it clear, he has described his presidential plans without any caveats that would suggest he’s still deciding, according to the two people familiar with his comments.

So there we have it. For now, that is. Assuming this plays out as we believe it will, the next hurdle will be clearing the field as early as possible in the primaries so Trump and DeSantis can go mano a mono. Until (and unless) that happens, Trump will simply split the field and rack up the delegates.