DeSantis raises nearly $14 million in two months

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis has continued to raise millions of dollars as the Legislature moves forward in its session and observers speculate about a potential 2024 run for the presidency, a decision the governor has indicated would not come until May or later.

In February leading up to his book launch, DeSantis raised nearly $10 million.

“The Courage to Be Free” launched Feb. 28, which was followed by a “Florida Blueprint” tour that is continuing into April.

A new campaign finance report from the Friends of Ron DeSantis committee shows the governor’s organization raised around $3.7 million in March.

In total, the governor has raised nearly $14 million in February and March alone.

For comparison, DeSantis’ committee raised a little more than $11 million in October 2022, the height of his gubernatorial re-election campaign. At that time, however, money was also raised through DeSantis as a candidate.

The March report is not particularly out of the ordinary for the governor receiving large influxes of cash, but other instances occurred leading up to re-election for his second and final term.

In early July 2022, he received more than $11 million over the span of a few days. In April 2021, he raised about $14 million.

Much of March’s fundraising came from large donors who gave the committee anywhere from $500,000 to $1.5 million at a time.

As speculation for a 2024 candidacy grows, a fake Federal Election Commission filing appeared and has yet to be taken down.

The Republican National Convention occurs in the summer of 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.