Liberals in Florida keep hoping that voters will agree with them as to how extreme the policies of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis are.
DeSantis’ donors beg to disagree. CNN reported on Friday that DeSantis has raised more than $100 million for his re-election campaign this year.
That considerable war chest, CNN added, makes DeSantis “the first gubernatorial candidate in the Sunshine State – and perhaps the entire country – to reach the nine-figure milestone solely through donations.”
DeSantis is on pace to bring in more than the combined total the incumbent and his 2018 opponent, Democrat Andrew Gillum, raised in the last gubernatorial election.
CNN noted that DeSantis brought in $6.1 million in March. His political action committees had already reported having $96 million on hand.
The previous record for a Florida election was $88 million, compiled by former GOP Gov. Rick Scott in 2014.
Meanwhile, the three Democrats seeking to oust DeSantis have raised about $14 million combined.
“Perhaps most daunting for Democrats is how much cash DeSantis is still sitting on. His campaign had $88.5 million on hand through February,” CNN added.
“While the proliferation of political committees and differences in campaign finance laws makes it difficult to compare fundraising numbers across state boundaries, it appears DeSantis is the first candidate in any state to eclipse $100 million entirely on donations,” CNN noted.
Citing the data of campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets, CNN reported that two other gubernatorial candidates had surpassed $100 million: former business executive and 2010 GOP nominee for California governor Meg Whitman and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, whose family owns Hyatt Hotels. Each of them funded their respective campaigns almost wholly out of their own pockets.
In contrast, DeSantis has a reported net worth of about $348,000 – which is about $50,000 more than average price of a single-family home in Florida.
CNN noted that under Florida law, contributions to PACs are not capped. Accordingly, DeSantis has raked in single contributions that tally $5 million and $10 million.
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