The battle is joined

His campaign launch was plagued by technical difficulties, but Ron Desantis’s entry into the presidential race marks an important moment for American politics. The 44-year-old governor of Florida cuts a very different figure to Donald Trump, 76, currently the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, yet their main differences relate to style, personality and character rather than ideology.

Mr Desantis’s strength is his ability to get things done in the face of extreme opposition, rather than merely to protest and agitate, and to push through reforms that move society in a more conservative direction. His two standout successes were his refusal to lock Florida down and his victories against the excesses of woke ideology. He has built an impressive multi-racial coalition in Florida, which is booming in part because of his policies, and achieved a remarkable re-election victory.

Mr Desantis will now need to show whether he is able to inspire the rest of America, and lay out his thinking on federal-level fiscal policy, welfare and health reform, and foreign affairs, areas that he has not had to deal with in Florida. US primaries are brutal and unpredictable. Mr Trump is already landing numerous blows against Mr Desantis, though the latter has a large war chest.

It is vital that the primaries be a proper contest, warts and all, between Mr Trump and as many other viable candidates as possible so that electors are fully informed when it comes to making up their minds. The Republicans will need to field their best hope if they are to defeat Joe Biden. He has been governing well to the Left of his 2020 promises, and has made many missteps, but he remains a formidable candidate in a polarised America.