What to know about Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis
He ran for governor with Trump's backing in 2018 and won.
This is part of a series on the 2024 presidential candidates.
Gov. Ron DeSantis was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on Sept. 14, 1978.
DeSantis was a very talented baseball player, playing in the 1991 Little League World Series.
DeSantis studied at Yale University and Harvard Law School.
DeSantis joined the United States Navy in 2004 and was promoted to lieutenant before serving as a legal advisor to SEAL Team One.
He ran for Congress in 2012 and won his Orlando-area district.
With the full endorsement of then-President Donald Trump, DeSantis ran for governor in 2018 and won.
DeSantis gained national attention for his handling of COVID-19 by reopening businesses and schools in Florida by July 2020, when cases were rising nationally.
In June 2021, DeSantis banned the teaching of critical race theory in Florida public schools.
DeSantis signed into law what critics have termed the "Don’t Say Gay" bill, which would prohibit discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in school classrooms.
DeSantis and his wife Casey have three children.
In 2022, DeSantis appeared on the Time 100, Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
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