DeSantis’s biggest donor threatens to cut off funds unless campaign has ‘moderate shift’
Eden Villalovas
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The biggest individual donor of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) presidential campaign will hold off on sending any more money his way unless a “moderate shift” occurs.
Robert Bigelow, the founder of Budget Suites of America and Bigelow Aerospace, made the largest single contribution of $20 million to DeSantis’s super PAC, Never Back Down. Now, Bigelow says he won’t donate another dollar until the conservative governor is “able to generate more on his own,” the hotel entrepreneur told Reuters in an interview Friday.
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“He does need to shift to get to moderates,” Bigelow said. “He’ll lose if he doesn’t. … Extremism isn’t going to get you elected.”
Bigelow cited one of DeSantis’s most extreme policies when asked which ones he took an issue with: Florida’s six-week abortion ban.
DeSantis signed into law in April a bill approved by the Republican-dominated Florida legislature to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The law is among the most restrictive in the nation.
Bigelow had donated the $20 million to DeSantis’s campaign before the law was signed and said he believes six weeks is too early to ban abortion, as most women are unaware they are pregnant at that stage.
“A lot of his donors are still on the fence,” Bigelow said, noting that he was “already too big a percentage” of DeSantis’s fundraising.
He told Reuters that he agrees with most of DeSantis’s policies, like his anti-woke narrative, and ultimately still thinks he is “the best guy for the country.”
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The loss of a major GOP donor is the latest blow to DeSantis’s campaign, which had high hopes among Republicans but has been underperforming in the polls recently. His team has opted for a reset to try to keep the national spotlight on him, pushing for more voter engagement in key early voting states and slashing more than a third of his campaign staff.
The Washington Examiner contacted DeSantis’s campaign and Never Back Down for comment.