DeSantis donors anxious about campaign

A growing group of donors who’ve supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ run for president are anxious in regards to the trajectory of his campaign, even after he raked in $20 million since entering the race in May.

Despite those big fundraising numbers and his entry into the race on a wave of hype, DeSantis is lagging well behind frontrunner Donald Trump in polls. The Murdoch family, led by conservative Fox Corp. and News Corp. mogul Rupert Murdoch, reportedly is souring on DeSantis. And as concerns for DeSantis mount across the board, several donors have told fundraisers about their worries, in accordance with people accustomed to the matter.

Some donors are anxious the polls indicate DeSantis has to climb a potentially insurmountable hill to overtake Trump, these people said. They’re also anxious that Trump has an enormous lead over DeSantis in terms of Republican congressional endorsements. DeSantis represented Florida within the House before he won the governor’s office.

Most of the people declined to be identified on this story with a purpose to speak freely about private conversations.

One megadonor, Ken Griffin, “continues to evaluate the sector,” in accordance with a spokesperson for the billionaire Citadel CEO, referring to the GOP primary lineup. Former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Recent Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina are among the many other contenders.

“Nothing’s modified” in Griffin’s stance toward the election, said the spokesperson, Zia Ahmed, who also denied that the Citadel CEO is anxious about DeSantis’ position in public polling.

Griffin had told Politico in November that he was prepared to back DeSantis if he ran for president. “He has an amazing record as governor of Florida, and our country can be well-served by him as president,” Griffin said then. Semafor reported in April that Griffin was sticking with DeSantis, but The Recent York Times reported that very same month the billionaire was still evaluating the Republican primary race and that his spokesman declined to say what Griffin thought in regards to the presidential race. 

Griffin gave over $100 million within the 2022 midterms mainly toward Republicans running for state and federal races, including $5 million toward DeSantis’ successful run for reelection in Florida.

It’s unclear whether Griffin has contributed to pro-DeSantis entities reminiscent of Never Back Down, an excellent PAC backing DeSantis’ run for president. When asked in regards to the top individual donors to that PAC, an individual fundraising for the group didn’t mention Griffin.

As a substitute, the person named former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman and VillageMD co-founder and executive Clive Fields, amongst others. Businessman Robert Bigelow told Time in April he had given over $20 million to Never Back Down.

The super PAC has raised $130 million because the committee launched in March. Yet greater than half of that total got here from a transfer of $82.5 million from a state-level political committee once controlled by DeSantis.

Braman, who has an estimated net value of $3 billion and backed Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., when he ran for president, donated $75,000 to the DeSantis now-defunct state committee that transferred money to the Never Back Down PAC, in accordance with campaign finance records. Braman’s company, Braman Motors, contributed $100,000 to the state-based DeSantis PAC, as well, in accordance with the records.

Braman didn’t return multiple requests for comment. Fields didn’t return a request for comment. Griffin’s spokesman didn’t say whether the Citadel CEO contributed to the PAC.

Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for the DeSantis campaign, didn’t deny any element of this story.

“You possibly can wallpaper the governor’s residence with the quantity of premature political obituaries written about Ron DeSantis. Difficult the establishment isn’t easy – and this campaign to save lots of our nation goes to be a protracted, hard-fought battle to defeat Joe Biden,” Romeo said. “We’re constructing a company that may go the space. Ron DeSantis is putting within the work to win, and as voters across the country proceed to find out about his forward-looking plans to reverse Biden’s failures, he’ll earn the nomination.” 

Romeo also pointed CNBC to the campaign being endorsed by 259 state legislators.

Dave Vasquez, a spokesman for Never Back Down, touted DeSantis’ fundraising success in an announcement to CNBC.

“$150 million was just raised to elect Governor Ron DeSantis the following President of america,” Vasquez said shortly after publication of this story. “That combined haul is the biggest in a single single quarter out of any candidate on this primary. Not only are we outpacing the competition in fundraising, we’re already lightyears ahead of the sector in terms of infrastructure on the bottom – that is what makes everyone going up against Governor DeSantis so nervous.”

For now, the DeSantis camp is principally focused on early primary and caucus states reminiscent of Iowa, Recent Hampshire and South Carolina. Early polling suggests that DeSantis is behind Trump in those states, as well, but that would change because the contests approach.

“There’s at all times someone that may complain about something but Gov. DeSantis is running an brisk campaign and introducing himself to early state voters,” Dan Eberhart, a GOP donor and DeSantis bundler, told CNBC. “I still think he wins Iowa and Recent Hampshire ultimately.”

The Iowa caucus is scheduled for January.

While things are looking dire for DeSantis for the time being, it’s still relatively early within the race. The GOP primary debate scheduled for August could boost DeSantis. Trump and his aides have said he likely won’t participate in the controversy. DeSantis has said he’ll debate in August, regardless if Trump shows up or not.

Hal Lambert, who once raised money for Trump’s campaigns for president and is now helping DeSantis, told CNBC that he’s on text message chain with about six other donors and hasn’t heard any issues from them.

“I might say to you this, the those who are anxious about polls, evidently have not been involved with presidential campaigns before,” Lambert said. “These national polls are near meaningless.”

He added that no perceived issues with the campaign are holding DeSantis back from aiming to lift big money throughout the summer. DeSantis has a fundraiser in the luxury Hamptons on Long Island this month, as CNBC reported in June.

Lambert said there are fundraising events coming up in Colorado, Utah and Wisconsin, amongst other states. A special person accustomed to the Colorado event said it can be this month within the ski town of Aspen, which is thought to draw among the wealthiest people on this planet.

DeSantis is scheduled to go to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in late July for a fundraiser, in accordance with an invitation to the gathering. Geoffrey Rehnert, the co-CEO of Audax Group and former executive at Bain Capital, is listed as a co-host for the event.