Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is running for president and taking on his former ally, former President Donald Trump, along with three other major contenders in the race so far. The governor will get an early shot in the arm in fundraising from tens of millions of dollars he raised in his Florida race in 2022.
DeSantis broke a fundraising record with his last run for governor. His Friends of Ron DeSantis organization still has more than $80 million in the bank account. With some paperwork filed in the last few weeks, those tens of millions will now support his run for president, according to NBC News.
In early May, DeSantis switched control of his state political committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis, to his ally in the state legislature, Florida State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia. NBC News reports the plan is for the group, under Ingoglia, to roll that money to the Super PAC supporting DeSantis’ presidential run Never Back Down. Legally, the two groups can’t coordinate but can signal to each other in public.
“Gov. DeSantis is an excellent fundraiser, and in many respects, he’s been raising money for a presidential campaign since he was first elected governor,” said NBC6 political analyst Mike Hernandez.
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According to campaign finance documents, DeSantis has raised money from several different types of donors.
First, wealthy individuals donated. Hotel chain operator Robert Bigelow gave $10 million. Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin gave $5 million. Griffin recently relocated to Florida from Chicago.
Then, partisan and party groups donated to the governor. More than $10 million came from the Republican Governor’s Association. Other big donations came from the Republican Party of Florida and the conservative advocacy group Club for Growth.
“Just like Democrats, Republicans have a group of donors that they love to go to when they’re running for the presidency,” Hernandez said.
Then major Florida companies donated to the governor’s state account. The Seminole Tribe of Florida donated $2 million. Other major donors include Publix, the Associated Industries of Florida — which often donates for Florida’s major sugar companies — and Florida Power and Light.
One of the state’s most powerful companies, Disney, has not donated to the governor like in years past because of its very public feud with him.
DeSantis also received tens of millions of dollars in small-dollar donations coming oftentimes in response to the hundreds of campaign emails his team sent out in the last two years.
His allies are expected to roll over the tens of millions to the group supporting him, Never Back Down, a Super PAC which does not legally have to disclose its donors. That organization will support volunteers, advertisements, and campaign staff for the governor's race for the White House.
