Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pulled in $4 million during July, expanding on his already large war chest.
The July financial report shows over 18,000 contributions during July, which is over 63 percent of total contributions Friends of Ron DeSantis has collected since January 2018.
DeSantis’ opponents are vastly trailing in dollar amounts. During July, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried raked in just over $130,000, according to the Florida Department of State’s Division of Elections. Similarly, U.S. Congressman Charlie Crist (D-13) raised just shy of $270,000 during the month of July.
DeSantis has continued to garner national support for taking on the larger COVID narratives surrounding the pandemic’s policies. This includes getting into a back-and-forth with President Joe Biden over the issue of mask mandates in Florida’s schools. The federal government has been warning against Ron DeSantis’ executive order banning mask mandates, and DeSantis responded saying he did not want to hear from the Biden administration.
“So why don’t you do your job?” DeSantis said. “Why don’t you get this border secure, and until you do that, I don’t want to hear a blip about COVID from you. Thank you.”
Other political voices, namely CNN’s Jim Acosta, said Americans should start referring to the Delta variant as the “DeSantis variant.”
“Perhaps it’s time to start naming these new variants that may be coming out after them,” Acosta said. “Instead of the delta variant, why not call it the DeSantis variant?”
CNN's Jim Acosta on delta variant: 'Why not call it the DeSantis variant?' https://t.co/OC5dxBReGp pic.twitter.com/F5GZSWofPV
— The Hill (@thehill) August 8, 2021
Despite being called out by Democrats in the federal and state levels, and from the mainstream media, DeSantis’ insistence on refusing to impose regulations and burdens infringing on the rights of the people is part of the appeal.
“People around the country are tired of government lockdown politics, illegal immigration, and big government eroding our individual freedoms,” said Nick Iarossi, a Republican lobbyist and DeSantis adviser. “Governor DeSantis is the tip of the spear in the fight against these Biden administration politics and a warrior for individual freedom.”
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Ron DeSantis” by Ron DeSantis.
