Florida’s two likely gubernatorial candidates have had successful months in preparation for the 2022 election. Congressman Charlie Crist (D-FL-13) pulled in another $1 million during the month of April and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) finished second in a hypothetical GOP presidential poll in North Carolina.
Crist issued a press release and indicated the million-dollar month was from contributions from both his campaign and his Friends of Charlie Crist political committee. It is unclear how much money is coming from each entity. However, individual donors who give less than $50 consist of approximately 44,000 of the contributions and the large donations are funneled through the political committee.
While Crist has not yet officially won the Democrat primary, he is becoming more and more the likely nominee after countless endorsements from high-profile state Democrats and from U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12).
“I continue to be thankful for the thousands of Floridians who believe in our campaign’s mission and are fueling our fight to build a Florida for all,” Crist said in the news release. “The Sunshine State cannot afford another four years under this reckless Governor — that’s why momentum is building in support of our vision for a new, better tomorrow. Help is on the way, Florida.”
Crist also notably referred to DeSantis as the “worst governor in modern history” while on the campaign trail.
“Ron DeSantis is nothing but a power-hungry bully, trying to bluster his way to the White House without doing a single damn thing for Florida,” Crist said. “No previous Governor has posed such a direct threat to our prosperity and our democracy.”
Despite Crist’s rhetoric, Floridians have been supportive of DeSantis in numerous polls. Recently, 89 percent of Florida Republicans had a favorable opinion of DeSantis and 61 percent of Independents in Florida also had a favorable view of the governor.
DeSantis has also consistently led any Democrat challenger by more than 10 percentage points for numerous polls in a row.
Additionally, DeSantis finished second in a poll of North Carolina Republicans for presidential preference. Former President Donald Trump (R) pulled approximately 45 percent of the 600 likely voters, and DeSantis garnered 26 percent.
Recently, Florida Democrat operatives have been quoted as saying that some are thinking that DeSantis is “untouchable,” which could lead to Democrats attempting to unify around one candidate sooner rather than later. One of Crist’s primary challengers, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D), has raised a total of just over $7.5 million. Crist has a total of $9.2 million.
The Democrats combined have nowhere near the amount of political capital that DeSantis has topping, out at over $135 million.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
