Florida Governor Ron DeSantis raised more than $800,000 in the first two weeks of June, largely by small contributions from outside Florida. While touting some high-dollar donations, the recent fundraising influx has come from approximately 1,200 donors, including around 1,000 people who have given less than $1,000.
DeSantis’ popularity has gained traction nationally and is reflected by the states where his political committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis, has been receiving donations. Many conservatives and Republican voters have looked to DeSantis as a leader for his handling of COVID, the signing of “pro-law enforcement” legislation, banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports, banning Critical Race Theory, and prioritizing religious freedom.
The committee has received:
- 169 from California,
- 24 from Texas,
- 23 from Nevada,
- 21 from Illinois,
- 19 from New York,
- 15 from Ohio,
- 14 from New Jersey,
- 13 from Massachusetts and Virginia,
- 12 from Georgia,
- 11 from Maryland and Pennsylvania,
- 9 from Arizona,
- 8 from Washington,
- 7 from Colorado,
- 6 from Michigan, North Carolina, and Oregon,
- 5 from Indiana,
- 4 from Connecticut, Louisiana, and South Carolina,
- 3 from Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, and Wisconsin,
- 2 from Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Montana, and Oklahoma, and
- 1 from Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming.
Most recently, DeSantis came away the winner of a presidential preference straw poll at the Western Conservative Summit, surpassing former President Donald J. Trump.
While DeSantis has yet to formally announce a re-election campaign for governor in 2022, his “national army of small-dollar donors” indicates a growing sentiment DeSantis could be looking at a 2024 GOP presidential run. However, DeSantis nor anyone on his team has given any indication he is looking passed a re-election effort.
Specifically, DeSantis’ team hauled in $869,213 during the early June window. Previously, he raised $7.5 million in May and is significantly outpacing his likely gubernatorial opponents, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist (D-10) and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.
Overall, DeSantis’ war chest surpasses $40 million, while Crist and Fried have amassed totals each around $2 million. He leads his opponents by double-digits in early polls.
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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.
Photo “Ron DeSantis” by Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 2.0
