Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has become a fundraising machine for himself and the Republican Party in general, outpacing other governors who, like him, are running for reelection in November.
According to a report by The Center Square, which cited data from Transparency USA, as of Sept. 2, DeSantis had raised $166,578,634, with the top donor being the Republican Governors Association, with a donation of $17.35 million.
“DeSantis is running for his second term against Democrat Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor of Florida who switched parties to run for Congress as a Democrat,” The Center Square reported, adding: “According to an Oct. 5 Mason-Dixon poll, DeSantis is projected to beat Crist by a vote of 52%-41%. A RealClear Politics average of polls has him leading by 11 points.”
The outlet added:
None of the other six governors running for reelection evaluated by Transparency USA have raised anywhere near the amount that DeSantis has.
The evaluation excludes Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has largely self-funded his political campaign, giving himself $110 million this year alone.
The governor who raised the second largest amount behind DeSantis on Transparency USA’s list was Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott, who’s running for his third term, raised $69,538,463, according to reporting data from Jan. 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.
Since early last month, DeSantis’ fundraising machine has continued to rake in money, collecting more than any governor in the history of the United States with a whopping $177.4 million, The Daily Wire reported last month, adding:
Open Secrets reported that a review of state campaign finance records showed DeSantis’ re-election campaign has raised more than $31.4 million since January 2021, while DeSantis’ state-level PAC, Friends of Ron DeSantis, has raised $146 million since January 2019.
DeSantis’ massive political war chest has likely grown since he sent 50 illegal immigrants to the Martha’s Vineyard, a wealthy leftist enclave, last week, sparking left-wing outrage as he drew attention to President Joe Biden’s border crisis.
Open Secrets compiled a list of the top 20 most likely presidential candidates for 2024, including Biden and former President Donald Trump (R), and DeSantis crushed all of them in fundraising since January 2021.
DeSantis and former President Donald Trump dwarfed President Joe Biden in fundraising, as did several others. Trump raised a massive $131,052,563, while Democrat Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker raised $133,252,795 — though most of his campaign is self-funded — while Biden was not close to them with a mere $11,850,907.
The Sunshine State governor continues to get good news ahead of the November election, while also providing inspiration for other Republican candidates. A survey provided exclusively to the Washington Examiner’s “Secrets” column in September showed DeSantis leading Crist by double digits.
In addition, DeSantis — “the national leader against corporate America’s ‘woke’ agenda” — leads Crist by 24 points among men and conservatives in the Sunshine State, where conservatives now outnumber liberals by 3-to-1.
Also, DeSantis has a strong lead against Crist among Hispanics in the state and especially Cuban Americans. “The governor led 50-42 among the 94% of respondents surveyed in English, and 38-29 with the 6% surveyed in Spanish,” said Rick Shaftan, of Neighborhood Research and Media, the firm that conducted the poll.
Crist, meanwhile, understandably leads with voters who identify as Democrats and those who say abortion is the top issue for them heading into the midterms. However, Shaftan said that the survey found only 2 percent of respondents put abortion rights atop their list of concerns.
Conversely, most respondents put the economy and education as their No. 1 issues and DeSantis has a commanding lead over Crist on both.
“DeSantis led 60-27 among voters mentioning inflation or the economy as the number one issue facing Florida,” said Shaftan.
“When asked what they liked most about Ron DeSantis, 14% say he is a strong and unafraid leader who stands his ground, 10% of his favorables said he is ‘for the people.’ Ten percent liked his COVID policies, 10% said he has done a good job as governor, 10% say he is honest or a straight-shooter,” said a memo sent by Shaftan.
Meanwhile, Crist supporters say he gets the nod because he’s not like DeSantis or former President Donald Trump.
“More than a quarter of Crist’s favorables are essentially that he’s the guy running against DeSantis. None of the leading answers reference anything in his past other than generalities about ‘experience,’ ‘honesty’ and a ‘good job.’ It’s all pretty weak,” said the GOP pollster.
