Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is currently running for reelection in the state of Florida and is on pace to set new fundraising records in the process.
As reported by Open Secrets:
“During the first seven months of 2022, DeSantis’ campaign raised nearly $22 million a new OpenSecrets analysis of campaign reports filed Aug. 12 found. His state-level PAC, Friends of Ron DeSantis, brought in about $67.2 million during the same period. While DeSantis’ campaign and PAC are technically two different political committees, they are two halves of the same war chest.
In addition to the Republican Governors Association’s nearly $17.4 million in contributions to his PAC, the Florida governor’s PAC has drawn millions of dollars in contributions from GOP megadonors. Budget Suites hotel mogul Robert Bigelow contributed $10 million to DeSantis’ political operation this cycle, and Ken Griffin, CEO of the hedge fund Citadel, gave $5 million. GOP megadonor Richard Uihlein, billionaire founder of the shipping and business supply company Uline, and his wife contributed over $1.2 million.
Former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), a prodigious self-financer who gave almost $95 million to his own 2014 and 2018 gubernatorial campaigns, also gave $660,000 to DeSantis’ PAC this election cycle.
DeSantis’ campaign has also received over $4.2 million from the Florida Matching Funds Program, which matches campaign contributions from individuals giving $250 or less but bars participating candidates from contributing more than $25,000 to their campaigns. The program also caps contributions from “national, state, and county executive committees of a political party” at $250,000. To get around this, the Florida Republican party gave $7.6 million in “in kind” donations including campaign staff, consulting and research to his campaign.”
DeSantis narrowly won his 2018 campaign against Democrat Andrew Gillum — a one-time rising star who was charged with 21 felonies earlier this year.
DeSantis gained national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic by keeping the state of Florida open for business, a move which garnered the state the nickname of the “Free State of Florida.”
His work during his first term has also put him on the top of the short list of 2024 GOP presidential contenders.
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Thank God DeSantis won because we would be screwed if Gillum won. DeSantis will win by a landslide this time.