(DCWatchdog.com) – Florida’s Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, has amassed a bigger war chest than former President Donald Trump as the two are expected to battle for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, according to a report.
“Friends of Ron DeSantis,” a political action committee, raised $226 million between 2018 and March 2023 while spending about $140 million.
This has left the DeSantis PAC with about $86 million, USA Today reported based on filings with the Federal Election Commission, as cited by Breitbart News.
Meanwhile, Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign raised about $18 million and spent a little over $4 million, leaving it with under $14 million.
Trump’s Political Action Committee, “Save America,” had about $18 million in its accounts at the end of 2022, meaning the 45th president of the United States has a combined war chest of some $32 million.
Trump announced his 2024 presidential candidacy a week after the 2022 midterms while Florida’s governor has done so – though expectations are he would launch an official White House bid this month.
The report indicates that DeSantis remains financially ahead of Trump even when federal super PACs are considered.
Thus, according to NBC News data, DeSantis’s super PAC, “Never Back Down,” launched in March, raised some $30 million in its first month. Because it was set up very recently, the Federal Election Commission still has few records available about it.
In contrast, as per its most recent FEC filing, Trump’s super PAC, “Make America Great Again, Inc.,” had some $54 million at the end of last year.
The combined totals still favor DeSantis, whose war chest has about $116 million, while Trump’s stands at about $86 million.
At the same time, though, finance experts have cautioned that much of DeSantis’s donations are in a Florida PAC, and using them in a presidential campaign could prove problematic.
The funds in question are called “soft money” as they were raised under Florida’s campaign finance laws, not federal campaign finance laws.
At the same time, in some past cases, the Federal Election Commission has agreed to transfer soft money to a federal campaign account.
It is noted that for his reelection campaign for the 2022 Florida gubernatorial election, DeSantis raised $29 million.
Records from the Florida State Department show that he spent all that money for the vote he won in a landslide, with an almost 20-point lead.
Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis has amassed more cash for a potential 2024 presidential campaign than former President Donald Trump, according to reports. https://t.co/kbIlT1gpIm
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) May 4, 2023
