DeSantis team cautions against new presidential PAC as musings about 2024 bid grow
Ryan King
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Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R-FL) team is seeking to drill home that they have nothing to do with the “Ron to the Rescue” political action committee touting him as a 2024 contender.
Warning donors about the nascent PAC, DeSantis’s legal counsel explained that, like a number of other pro-DeSantis PACs, it formed “without his permission or authorization” and underscored solicitations from “Ron to the Rescue” will not benefit his political apparatus.
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“It is important to make clear to supporters that Governor DeSantis and his team are not affiliated with the ‘Ron to the Rescue’ PAC, have not authorized it to conduct any activity on their behalf, and contributions made to the ‘Ron to the Rescue’ PAC will not benefit Governor DeSantis or his agenda,” DeSantis’s legal counsel Benjamin Gibson wrote in a letter to donors, per Fox News.
“Ron to the Rescue” has begun cutting ads hailing DeSantis as the “DeFuture” and rallying supporters to fight to make him the next commander in chief. The group was founded by GOP strategist John Thomas, according to Fox News.
Thomas has similarly emphasized that the PAC has not coordinated with the DeSantis team and is simply striving to elevate him on the 2024 political stage. Notably, the Federal Election Commission rules provide strict governance restricting any coordination between candidates and PACs.
“Whether well-intentioned or not, the organizers of these PACs have not been in contact with DeSantis leadership and such efforts may create confusion amongst supporters of the Governor and his policies,” Gibson said.
Fervor over the prospect of DeSantis entering the 2024 fray reached a fever pitch after the dismal Republican showing in the midterm elections. An outcry of conservatives began to blame former President Donald Trump for the party’s less-than-stellar performance in what had been expected to be a red-wave year.
Many of them pointed to DeSantis’s strong showing in Florida as a bright spot and swooped to him as an alternative to Trump, who debuted his 2024 campaign on Tuesday in Florida and has already begun firing off attacks toward DeSantis, his speculated rival.
“Since the Governor is not a candidate for President at this time, we’ve stepped up to the plate to advocate and organize Americans who feel passionately that we need Ron DeSantis leading our nation,” Thomas told Fox News. “The intention of our group is to lay the groundwork and harness the energy for Ron DeSantis.”
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DeSantis has been largely mum on whether he plans to throw his hat in the 2024 presidential arena. Responding to one of Trump’s fiery diatribes against him, the Florida governor pointed to the “scoreboard” on Election Day.
“At the end of the day, I would just tell people to go check out the scoreboard from last Tuesday night. The fact of the matter is, it was the greatest Republican victory in the history of the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.
Polling had consistently pegged him as the top potential challenger to Trump in a Republican primary.