Ron DeSantis Raises $8.2 Million in First 24 Hours of Presidential Campaign

Miami — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has recorded a record 820 in the first 24 hours of announcing his 2024 presidential campaign as he races toward a costly and combative primary led by former President Donald Trump. collected millions of dollars.

The DeSantis campaign confirmed that this amount includes online donations and funds raised by fundraisers at a fundraiser in Miami. It’s unclear how many were collected by each method.

DeSantis’ $8.2 million win beats the $6.3 million raised by President Biden on the first day of the 2020 campaign, and the $9.5 million raised by President Trump in the first six months of the 2024 campaign. is also higher than

Only South Carolina Senator Tim Scott made more than $22 million When he transferred his Senate re-election account to the presidential campaign, he started his candidacy for the White House with more “hard” dollars, money raised under federal funding limits.

Republican groups have already spent more than $36 million on advertising for the 2024 election, according to data from ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

In Miami on Thursday, DeSantis “bundlers,” or network-raised fundraisers, will offer donors a maximum federal contribution of $3,300 for the primary and a maximum equal for the general election. asked for , totaling $6,600. Donors can also make maximum donations through DeSantis’ campaign website, but it is expected to primarily help raise smaller amounts.

Joe Lonsdale, founder of venture capital firm 8VC, wrote in an email that while “there are other good people we know who are running in this race,” We have the best chance of winning both games,” he said. The best track record and skill set to serve our country in a general election and as president. ”

According to an email obtained by CBS News, he added, “At this stage, we are working to build momentum, report good numbers early, and accelerate ground warfare in key states such as Iowa and South Carolina. “This direct campaign funding is very important.”

The budget for the Never Back Down super PAC, which supports Mr. DeSantis’ candidacy, is expected to be $200 million, of which $100 million will go to voter turnout and ground warfare. PAC said it had already started visiting Iowa and New Hampshire this week.

“Governor DeSantis has built the strongest and most sophisticated organization in the history of American politics, and what we have experienced in the last 24 hours as we begin to work in earnest in early candidate states to share in Governor DeSantis’s ideals. “The great support will be extremely important as we plan to revitalize the American spirit,” DeSantis campaign manager Genera Peck said in a statement.

“We have yet to raise enough money to make up for the failure to launch the campaign,” said DeSantis, president of the Trump-backing Make America Great Again super PAC.

PAC spokesman Alex Pfeiffer said, “His history of targeting senior benefits, wanting to raise taxes and withholding funds for border wall construction killed the campaign on arrival.” Money doesn’t change that,” he said.

An event called “Lon O Rama,” which brings together DeSantis fundraisers and donors this week at Miami’s Four Seasons Resort, kicked off with a reception on Wednesday coinciding with the governor’s address. The launch is hit with technical problems We speak with owner Elon Musk on Twitter’s audio platform.

Participants said there was a sense of confusion throughout the 20-minute delay, but the atmosphere changed once the second Twitter Spaces conversation began.

Brandon Rosner, a Milwaukee bundler who backed and endorsed Trump in 2016, said, “Once it got going, people got pretty excited as they made their way through the 100,000 people in the waiting room where Twitter crashed. I did,” he said. 2020 campaign.

The DeSantis campaign announced Wednesday that it had raised $1 million in donations within an hour of its launch.

Two people familiar with the matter said that once the fundraising began, the campaign expected to raise between $8 million and $10 million within 24 hours of his bid announcement.

Thursday kicked off with a political conference with senior DeSantis campaign officials, who said three people in the conference room had a clear path for DeSantis to win the first four presidential primaries, with a particular focus on Iowa and New Hampshire. shown. presentation.

The presentation highlighted how the DeSantis campaign was active in the early states, from events to fundraising and knocking on doors, and included internal research into DeSantis and Trump’s favorability ratings in four early states. He had a big lead in Iowa and Iowa. New Hampshire.

Officials said the race for the Republican nomination was largely a “two man” battle between DeSantis and Trump, downplaying Trump’s dominance in national polls as “superficial”. .

“When is the national primary?” one Bandler remembers a senior staffer saying scornfully.

“We want to show the rest of the country what he’s done in Florida,” said Chuck Volpe, a DeSantis supporter from Pennsylvania. “Look at the surprising outcome of his re-election that will even turn the eternally voting Miami-Dade County upside down. [a Democrat], apparently that’s part of their pitch. He will be elected, but former President Trump will not be elected. ”

CBS News has reached out to the DeSantis campaign to confirm details of the high-level conference.

The rally ended Thursday night with an appearance by DeSantis and his wife Casey DeSantis, where they thanked the bundlers and raised the most money to date, according to one attendee. The award was given to a bundler in California as the collecting state.

About the $8.2 million raised on the first day, Sandy Stilwell-Youngquist, a Florida business owner and first-time presidential funder, said he was “very excited.”

“I voted for Trump and he couldn’t shut his mouth when he needed to. It was so disappointing,” she added. “I think when we elect this president, we’ll have to see them finish their eight-year term. What we really have to look at is the future and what’s best for our country. is.”