Ron DeSantis PAC hauls in tens of millions from wealthy ex-Trump allies
Gabe Kaminsky
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A super PAC spending large sums to will Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to the White House in 2024 says it pulled large donations from deep-pocketed GOP donors who previously backed former President Donald Trump.
Never Back Down had roughly $97 million cash-on-hand in its account by June’s end and also received tens of millions of dollars from ex-Trump supporters, according to the pro-DeSantis group, citing internal documents expected to be made public Monday evening. The organization’s announcement comes after a handful of recent reports on how the official campaign for the governor has laid off dozens of staffers amid overspending, fundraising, and polling woes.
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The fundraising haul, which was also reported by the Washington Post, is a further look at how wealthy conservative businessmen are seeking to find alternatives to Trump. Still, despite moguls shifting their support to DeSantis and other GOP presidential primary challengers, Trump has maintained a sizable lead. A RealClearPolitics polling average finds Trump with 54% support, DeSantis at 18.3%, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 4.9%, former Vice President Mike Pence at 4.3%, and ex-United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) at under 4%.
Never Back Down notably received over $20 million from Nevada real estate mogul Robert Bigelow, who stopped supporting Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to the pro-DeSantis group. Bigelow, whose $10 million contribution made him the largest donor to DeSantis’s 2022 gubernatorial reelection bid, previously told Time he would give DeSantis “more money and go without food.”
The super PAC also received $2 million from billionaire Silicon Valley investor Douglas M. Leone, who, like Bigelow, stopped supporting Trump after the Capitol riot. Conservative megadonors and billionaires Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, who also defected from Trump, cut $1 million checks each to Never Back Down, according to the group.
Other donors to Never Back Down included Mori Hosseini, a Florida housing developer who lent DeSantis a golf simulator, private equity firm head Saul Fox, who previously fundraised for Trump, Standard Industries CEO David David J. Millstone, and Stefan Brodie, who founded a biotechnology firm in Pennsylvania, according to Never Back Down.
The donations, along with the $82.5 million Never Back Down received this year from DeSantis’s former Florida committee, have paved the way for the super PAC to craft big plans as far as its spending goes. Its CEO Chris Jankowski will inform Never Back Down senior staffers in a memo that its campaign finance report will show how the group shelled out 4 out of every 5 dollars to help build a national voter file and other technology investments, according to a source familiar.
Never Back Down hauled in $130 million from the start of 2023 and spent almost $34 million from March to June, according to the group. It has built a 121-person staff, while also notching 240 canvassers. “Direct voter contact,” also known as mail, digital, and TV, advertising, as well as the paid canvassing program, has taken up 85% of its cash spent through June’s end, Never Back Down said.
At the same time, however, the DeSantis campaign has lost ground in recent polls, and is seeking to reboot in order to make the governor more competitive against Trump. The campaign has let go over a third of its staff in various departments, with top DeSantis officials reportedly acknowledging to donors in Utah that the campaign needs to make changes as far as its rapid spending.
One Republican strategist, however, thinks the problem with the DeSantis campaign is his messaging — not finances. “It feels like a social media strategy more than a presidential campaign message a lot of the time,” Brad Todd told the Washington Examiner.
By March 2024, Never Back Down is aiming to raise another $100 million, while organizing DeSantis events and fundraisers. Campaign finance laws hold that DeSantis cannot ask for donations exceeding campaign limits on the federal level but can appear at Never Back Down’s fundraisers. For instance, the governor is allowed to be present at things like rallies, parades, and bus tours as a “special guest” of the super PAC.
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The DeSantis campaign did not return a request for comment.
“President Trump has been dominating in poll after poll — both nationally and statewide — and voters from all backgrounds are clearly standing with him in a big way,” Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, told the Washington Examiner. “The fact is that President Trump will be the nominee and will beat Crooked Joe Biden because he’s the only person who can supercharge the economy, secure our border, safeguard communities, and put an end to unnecessary wars. Americans want to return to a prosperous nation and there’s only one person who can do that — President Trump.”