Gov. DeSantis’ has raised more than $100M for his reelection campaign

When it comes to campaign fundraising for the upcoming governor’s race, it is not even close. Governor Ron DeSantis has $102 million in his war chest, twelve times as much as his nearest competitor, Congressman Charlie Crist.

Running for office is not cheap, especially in Florida, and DeSantis knows it.

“There’s an old saying in politics that the money doesn’t guarantee that you win, but it sure helps,” said Kevin Wagner, a political science professor at Florida Atlantic University.

The governor is running for reelection, and eight months away from election day, he’s already flexing his money muscles.

The Orlando Sentinel reports DeSantis has raised $102 million. That is more than any gubernatorial candidate in any state by some margin.

“Governor DeSantis is a fundraising juggernaut,” said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida.

Jewett said DeSantis is a machine who knows his Republican base. Just look at how he handled COVID-19.

“He’s raised this national profile. He sends out fundraising letters. He does fundraising that sometimes is a little bit clever, a little bit cute, at least from a Republican conservative standpoint,” said DeSantis.

DeSantis’ high profile helped him take in millions from out-of-state donors, but he’s also doing well in Florida.

WINK News asked Professor Wagner; how can democrats stay competitive? “You don’t have to outraise your opponent. You do have to raise enough so that you can get your message out and compete against the messages of your opponent,” said Wagner.

Right now, it’s not a fair fight. Democrat Charlie Crist has raised the most money among the three candidates running against DeSantis. He has raised $8.2 million.

Political experts say the most Democrats can expect to raise is about $70 million, and that would be for the general election.