While he got a lot of static for a glitch-filled campaign debut Wednesday on Twitter, Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis got a lot of campaign cash as well.
The DeSantis campaign said Thursday that it received $8.2 million in donations over the campaign’s first 24 hours.
$8.2 million in the first 24 hours. Our Great American Comeback! #DeSantis2024https://t.co/azjZSMcJi4
— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) May 26, 2023
The New York Times noted that the amount outstripped the $6.3 million President Joe Biden raised in the first 24 hours after he announced his candidacy for the White House in 2019.
Former President Donald Trump raised about $9.5 million in six weeks after announcing his candidacy in November — a number DeSantis is almost certain to surpass.
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The most recent 24-hour yardstick for Trump was the $4 million he raised in the first 24 hours after he was indicted by a New York grand jury on felony charges of falsifying business records.
The numbers for DeSantis include online donations and those from bundlers making fundraising calls Thursday.
The Times report said the governor made some calls as well.
Will you vote for DeSantis in 2024?
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The Never Back Down super PAC, which is working on behalf of DeSantis, expects to spend $200 million, with about half of that focused on the early primary states of New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina as well the Iowa caucuses, according to the Times.
The voter outreach effort calls for more than 2,600 field organizers to be hired by Labor Day.
In his first quarter after announcing in June, 2015, Donald Trump raised $5.8 million.
In his first 24 hours after announcing, @RonDeSantis raised $8.2 million, beating Joe Biden’s previous best of $6.3 million.
This is a new record in presidential primary politics.
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) May 25, 2023
“No one has ever contemplated the scale of this organization or operation, let alone done it. This has just never even been dreamed up,” said Chris Jankowski, who leads the group.
Despite the glitches during the governor’s announcement interview with Elon Musk on Twitter Spaces, enthusiasm for the DeSantis campaign was high among its bundlers, according to CBS News.
@GovRonDeSantis announced he’s running for president on Twitter. This was by far the biggest room ever held on social media. Twitter performed great after some initial scaling challenges. Thanks Twitter Team for adapting so quickly to make history!https://t.co/mTJ2INQ1Y7
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) May 24, 2023
“It’s exciting,” said Sandy Stillwell-Youngquist, a Florida business owner making her first foray into presidential campaign fundraising on behalf of DeSantis.
“I did vote for Trump, but he just wasn’t able to close his mouth when he needed to close his mouth, and that was so unfortunate,” she said. “I just think when you elect this president, you need to be able to see them do an eight-year term … what you have to really look at is down the road, what’s best for our nation.”
