Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, successfully raised $15 million in the third quarter, surpassing all rivals except former President Donald Trump.
“We are the only campaign in this race to have already reserved television in early states during the closing stretch, we are fighting Donald Trump for delegates in Nevada while others have backed down, and our fundraising continues to accelerate in the 4th quarter,” DeSantis campaign communications director Andrew Romeo said.
“Unlike others, we’re playing to beat Donald Trump and have the resources and organization to do it. That’s why the former president is scrambling to counter the inroads the governor is making in the early states — especially Iowa,” Romeo added.
On October 4, Romero posted a tweet saying, “DeSantis continues to accelerate his fundraising in the 4th quarter, bringing in over $500k in Boston yesterday.”
However, questions have arisen regarding whether these funds will suffice for DeSantis to narrow the gap between him and Trump.
Additionally, there is uncertainty about whether he can maintain his second-place position in the polls, given the rapid growth of former U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s campaign.
While DeSantis had a substantial third-quarter fundraising, his federal campaign filings indicate that all the funds raised from July to September have already been expended.
“At a minimum, you hope that those core donors will bundle for you or help make the introductions to expand your network, but when you’re sliding in the polls and Trump’s hold seems to get stronger, it’s just very difficult to defy that gravity,” he added.
“I think that as he ramped up the campaign, his poll numbers ramped down. And rather than demonstrating the ability to defeat Trump in the primary, he consistently got weaker and so he was not able to expand that donor pool,” GOP strategist Jason Cabel Roe said.
Meanwhile, former South Carolina governor Haley’s campaign benefited from her strong performance in the two Republican primary debates, leading to robust fundraising in the third quarter.
Both DeSantis and Haley must contend with the financial dominance of Trump’s campaign, which raised over $45 million in the third quarter.
DeSantis’s campaign has asserted that he was in a strong position heading into the third Republican primary debate in Miami and is also preparing for the Iowa caucus, which is less than three months away.
Andrew Romeo, the campaign’s communications director, emphasized that they were the only campaign that had reserved television time in the primary early states and expressed confidence that their fundraising would continue to grow in the fourth quarter.
