Ron DeSantis, under pressure to raise more money for his struggling presidential bid, is facing donors who are growing reluctant to bankroll him further.
Some donors who have supported the Florida Republican’s campaigns for governor and who had planned to donate to his presidential run are holding off until they see his poll numbers and operation improve. Others who had donated to DeSantis are regretful and aren’t planning to contribute more to groups supporting him.
The pullback in support comes at a critical time for DeSantis, whose campaign has blown through its cash and needs to drum up enthusiasm among GOP voters who overwhelmingly support the thrice-indicted Donald Trump. Failing to reverse course in the coming months could spell the end of the DeSantis campaign.
One donor, who asked not to be named to speak frankly about the campaign, characterized the feeling as buyer’s remorse, saying that they liked meeting DeSantis in person and urged friends to donate to him. Now, the person said they feel they oversold his abilities and are embarrassed by what they view as a poorly run campaign.
Don Tapia, a businessman who strongly considered supporting DeSantis’s presidential bid, has been hesitant to donate and said he likely won’t make contributions to any campaign until the fall.
Tapia, who was a Trump donor and served in his administration as the ambassador to Jamaica, said he has been invited to DeSantis fundraising events but hasn’t yet attended any. Tapia previously donated $50,000 to DeSantis’s gubernatorial reelection bid and hosted fundraisers for him.
DeSantis needs to outline policy specifics, he said. “There’s a lot of things that he is not addressing. That’s why we’re sitting back,” Tapia said.
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DeSantis’s backers say that the ups and downs of a campaign are normal and that the Florida governor is effectively facing two incumbents — Trump and President Joe Biden — which make his bid even more difficult. DeSantis donor Pete Snyder said the level of “pearl clutching” among some donors is “ridiculous.”
DeSantis is the only candidate with the operation and money to take on Trump, so they need to continue to back him, some said.
“I have found that when Governor DeSantis meets people, he converted them over to his cause,” said Will O’Neill, a Newport Beach, California, city council member. “Governor DeSantis has never lost, and I wouldn’t expect him to lose this one either.”
DeSantis is fighting an uphill battle with the electorate. In a Siena College/New York Times poll released this week, 54% of likely Republican voters backed Trump, compared to 17% for DeSantis. The governor is the first choice for just 18% of Republicans, down from a high of 31% in January, before he announced his White House bid, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls.
Trump, who casts himself as Republicans’ best chance to retake the White House, told supporters at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania that he’s getting calls from donors who were previously supporting DeSantis and who now want to switch to him. He didn’t give names, and a spokesperson for his campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.
So far, Trump’s legal troubles haven’t suppressed his poll numbers, and DeSantis again avoided deriding him over his latest indictment Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Washington over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, instead calling for an end to the “weaponization of government.”
Money Race
DeSantis’s campaign, which can accept contributions of only up to $3,300 per donor, is facing a cash crunch, prompting DeSantis to lay off about a third of the staff last month.
His allied super PAC had more cash on hand at the end of June — $97 million — than any other such political committee supporting a 2024 GOP candidate. But, under campaign finance law, DeSantis can’t direct the committee’s spending on his behalf.
Grassroots supporters and major donors “have made it possible for us to build an unmatched organization in the early nominating states with the ability to compete for the long haul,” campaign spokesperson Andrew Romeo said in a statement. “Donors know the governor is the only candidate who can beat Joe Biden and lead our Great American Comeback.”
So far, major donors who are holding back contributions to DeSantis or Trump have yet to coalesce around an alternative. That’s leaving lots of Republican cash on the sidelines.
Citadel’s Ken Griffin, one of the largest Republican donors who has never given to Trump, hasn’t contributed to DeSantis or any other Republican hopeful in the race as of the end of June, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
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William Kunkler, a longtime Republican donor and Chicago executive, is staunchly opposed to both Trump and DeSantis. Despite outreach from multiple candidates for his financial backing, Kunkler said he has only donated $100 to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to ensure he could get on the Republican debate stage this month.
Kunkler sharply disagrees with DeSantis’s immigration policies and how he shipped migrants from Florida to Martha’s Vineyard on a bus. While he would vote for the governor if he were the GOP nominee, Kunkler said, he would never donate to him.
--With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs and Bill Allison.