Gov. Ron DeSantis raised upward of $20 million in the first six weeks of his presidential campaign. The campaign announced the haul ahead of a reporting deadline for the second quarter of 2023.
“(DeSantis) posted the best first fundraising quarter of any non-incumbent Republican candidate in more than a decade, raising $20 million in just six weeks,” reads a tweet from DeSantis’ campaign. “This surpasses the amount former President (Donald) Trump’s campaign raised during his first two fundraising quarters in this race.”
DeSantis opened his presidential campaign account in late May.
The campaign first provided the fundraising totals to Fox News. The pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down also announced it has raised more than $130 million since it launched in March.
“DeSantis for President and Never Back Down raised a combined $150 million from all 50 states,” Never Back Down officials later confirmed in a tweet. “The future of the Republican Party is Governor Ron DeSantis!”
The DeSantis campaign compared its opening quarter totals to Trump’s first quarter this election cycle, when Trump raised $14.5 million.
But of note, Trump’s campaign reported to POLITICO that the former President raised $35 million in the second quarter this year. That means Trump still holds a massive cash advantage over DeSantis or any other Republican in the field now, and that he has now raised more than $53 million for his comeback run in 2024.
The fundraising number shows strong performance by DeSantis with the donor class even as he lags further behind Trump in polls.
But already, potential rivals are questioning the value of DeSantis’ fundraising success. North Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem in a Fox News appearance asserted that DeSantis lacks small donor support, and said Trump appeared better at rallying small donations. The Trump campaign said its average donation in the last quarter was $34.20.
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