Ron DeSantis sets $1 million goal for donation event ahead of 2024 bid

It would cost a lot for Ron DeSantis to show up in person to collect a political check – about $1 million.

According to three Republicans involved in efforts to raise cash for DeSantis during the Shadow Primary, it will pull the Florida governor and possibly the 2024 presidential candidate out of his way for a fundraising event. It is an aggressive goal set for

“If they were going to be in town already, they would do it for $500,000.

Organizers of spring fundraising events for DeSantis in mid-sized cities have been told to raise $1 million, according to people familiar with the plans.

Numbers may not matter as much as the political truth they represent. DeSantis is so in demand that donors are lining up to give him money rather than wait for him to beg, setting the bar at the level of a sitting president or vice president. can.

“For non-general candidates and non-incumbents, these are steep numbers, but not for DeSantis, because I wouldn’t be surprised if he had already made hundreds of millions in his first month.” said Robert Wolfe, who organized the fundraising event. President Barack Obama.

DeSantis has attracted the attention of many Republican donors and has clearly established itself as #2 in national polls. 4 recent surveys It shows that he is up to 30 points ahead of former President Donald Trump, just 8 points.

Still, DeSantis, which held a donor retreat in Palm Beach last weekend, looks like a fundraising juggernaut this early in the process.

DeSantis is in “tall cotton,” said the longtime Republican fundraiser, citing the governor’s successes to date. The fundraiser said another 2024 nominee, Mike Pence, had a goal of: was $500,000 when I was vice president. The fundraiser confirmed the numbers and said the specific peg for the Florida-based DeSantis event was $500,000.

A person familiar with the DeSantis fundraiser said there is no hard price tag.

“The governor’s fundraiser has generated everything from $10 million to $10 million,” the person said. ”

A longtime political operative says such goals are rarely set because it is difficult to guarantee that everyone who promises to donate will actually show up and write a check. means that event organizers try to demonstrate to politicians’ aides what they can offer, usually through their own and future donors’ achievements, to keep things on schedule and on time. To do.

“It’s a dance between financial staff and event organizers,” said Pia Carusone, a veteran Democratic strategist who has held senior campaign positions in the House and Senate.

As governor, and before that as a congressman, DeSantis attended fundraising events with well under $500,000.

His statewide Friends of Ron DeSantis Commission has received millions of dollars in recent weeks. This includes his five donations ranging from his $1 million to his $2.5 million from individual donors, though no fundraising events have been held.

Allies argue that DeSantis is focused on governing Florida rather than planning a presidential election.

At the same time, DeSantis is hitting the television circuit, traveling across the country to promote his book, which came out Tuesday.Last week a new tax exempt group showed up to sponsor his funds speech to suburban police groups in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago; And Republican money bundlers are trying to hold fundraising events for him across the country.

Brendan Steinhauser, a Republican consultant based in Texas, said it was unusual for a presidential candidate to raise such a sum so early. But he pointed to the grassroots movement towards DeSantis and the polls that have consistently put him closer to Trump than in other areas.

“If you’re a more transactional donor, you’re thinking, ‘I want to join early on someone I think will win,'” Steinhauser said. , are investing in this guy they think can win primaries and generals, they think he can be Trump.