Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) has raised well over $11 million for his re-election campaign in 2022 over the last several months, with half of that being in the last month alone, according to Politico.
DeSantis had temporarily paused his fundraising efforts at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, but restarted those operations in October. Since then, DeSantis has raised $11.3 million for re-election over just that six-and-a-half month period alone. Of that amount, about $6 million was raised since March 2nd, when the state legislature began its 2021 legislative session.
These numbers have made DeSantis by far the highest fundraiser of any politician in the state of Florida. He has even greatly surpassed the Florida GOP, which had raised only $3.65 million since the start of 2021. Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only Democrat to hold any statewide office in Florida, has raised only $450,000 for her re-election since October, and a mere $154,000 since March.
The numbers demonstrate DeSantis’ overwhelming popularity in the state of Florida. After initially following the same guidelines as the rest of the country with regards to lockdowns to ostensibly stop the spread of the virus, DeSantis announced in 2020 that he would lift all restrictions on businesses in Florida, including capacity limits, mask mandates, and other measures. Doing so significantly earlier than any other state, Florida’s economy quickly rebounded and has continued to thrive, with many people from across the country traveling to Florida to escape strict lockdowns in other states.
Despite the mainstream media and Democrats attempting to attack DeSantis for not locking down the state, his approval ratings remain consistently high, and he is widely seen as the favorite to win the 2022 gubernatorial election. His popularity has even led to him being considered a frontrunner for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination if former President Donald Trump chooses not to run again.