DeSantis Political Committee Now Has $48M Cash On Hand; Fried’s has $2M; Crist’s Has $1.5M
- By Jim Saunders
- August 11, 2021
TALLAHASSEE --- Gov. Ron DeSantis last month continued to trounce his Democratic rivals in raising cash, bringing in nearly $4.23 million for a political committee that will play a key role in his 2022 re-election bid, newly filed reports show.
The committee Friends of Ron DeSantis had about $48 million in cash on hand as of July 31, after raising $40.4 million during the first seven months of this year, according to information posted on the state Division of Elections website. It raised $4.228 million in July.
DeSantis has not opened a formal campaign account for his re-election but has been receiving money from thousands of donors through the committee, which does not face restrictions on contribution amounts.
The committee received 11 contributions of at least $100,000 in July, with the largest a $250,000 check from Bradenton insurance executive Steve Herrig, according to the committee’s finance report filed Tuesday. Other large contributions included $103,750 from a Florida Home Builders Association PAC.
The amount raised by the DeSantis committee in July dwarfed the amounts raised by Democratic candidates Charlie Crist and Nikki Fried for their campaign accounts and political committees.
Crist, a congressman from St. Petersburg and former governor, raised $268,491 for his campaign account and $235,250 for the political committee Friends of Charlie Crist. The campaign account had nearly $477,000 on hand as of July 31, while the committee had about $1.53 million.
Fried, the state agriculture commissioner, raised $130,295 for her campaign account and $197,849 for the political committee known as Florida Consumers First. Fried’s campaign account had about $448,000 on hand as of July 31, while the committee had about $2.06 million, the reports show.
State candidates and political committees faced a Tuesday deadline for filing updated finance reports. Among other takeaways from the reports:
--- Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody in July raised $134,055 for the committee Friends of Ashley Moody as she prepares to run for a second term next year. The committee had nearly $2.1 million hand as of July 31. A Democratic challenger has not emerged to run against Moody.
--- Republican Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis had a quiet fundraising month, bringing in a combined total of $17,365 for his campaign account and the committee known as Treasure Florida. The campaign account had about $106,000 on hand as of July 31, while the committee had about $2.17 million. Patronis also does not currently have a Democratic challenger.
--- A political committee led by Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, raised $465,746 during the month amid speculation about Simpson possibly running for agriculture commissioner next year. The committee known as Jobs for Florida had about $1.95 million in cash on hand as of July 31. Democrat Ryan Morales and Republicans Richard Olle Jr. and James Shaw have opened campaign accounts to run for agriculture commission but have raised little money.
©2021 The News Service of Florida. All rights reserved; see terms.
