Florida Governor Ron DeSantis addresses Iowa voters March 10, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. DeSantis, widely expected to run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is one of several Republican leaders to visit the state this month.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
The super PAC, which is urging Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to run for president in 2024, has raised $30 million since its launch less than a month ago, an official with the group told CNBC on Monday. .
Never Back Down, a federal super PAC led by former Trump administration official Ken Cuccinelli, has dropped many of the subtleties about DeSantis’ widely anticipated plan to start the Republican presidential primary. Gathered a fuss.
The governor, who easily won re-election in November, is set to make an announcement after the Florida legislature ends in May. trying to market DeSantis as the Republican Party of the United States, he will have a sizable pile of cash to use.
More than half of the funds raised through the Never Back Down online fundraiser came from outside Florida, officials said. new york times early monday.
The official, who requested anonymity to discuss the group’s internal number, said none of the money was transferred to Super PAC from another fundraising entity.
This windfall is in contrast to former President Donald Trump. His presidential campaign and joint fundraising committee raised about $9.5 million in his final six weeks last year. NBC NewsTrump was the only leading official candidate in the campaign at the time.
DeSantis is considered the frontrunner against Trump, who announced his candidacy for the White House last year, and holds a clear polling lead in the early stages of the primary. DeSantis has demonstrated his presidential ambitions in a variety of ways, including publishing his political memoir and touring several key Republican primaries.
Cuccinelli, former attorney general of Virginia and a senior Homeland Security official in the Trump administration, said: launch Call for “new conservative leadership” on March 9 and never back down.recent groups hired Jeff Lowe, a popular Republican consultant who worked on Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s victory over Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
In recent weeks, Trump has been lashing out at his potential rival. The Trump-backed super PAC has also accused DeSantis of running an illegal “shadow presidential campaign” by acting like a candidate without starting a bid.
Many of the former president’s messages last month were divided between attacking DeSantis and blaming the Manhattan District Attorney, who was indicted last week in a case centered around a 2016 hush-money payment.
The Trump campaign has raised more than $5 million since the former president was indicted, NBC News reported. It’s unclear how much Never Back Down’s posse has been lifted after criminal charges against Trump began to dominate headlines.
Trump, the first former president to be indicted, is expected to travel to New York on Monday and be arraigned on Tuesday. He has shown no signs of pausing the presidential election.
