DeSantis pulls $500,000 at high-dollar Boston fundraisers for 2024

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) hauled in over $500,000 in donations for his 2024 Republican presidential bid at two high-dollar Boston fundraisers on Monday, his campaign said.

The Florida governor, who was in Massachusetts to file for the state’s GOP primary, attended a fundraiser hosted by Brian Shortsleeve, who was chief administrator for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority under former Gov. Charlie Baker (R-MA), now president of the NCAA. DeSantis later appeared at a second fundraiser in the evening with entrepreneur and ex-congressional candidate Rick Green and also at a meet-and-greet with the Massachusetts GOP.

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“The governor spoke for about 20 minutes and then took a dozen questions,” Massachusetts GOP Chairwoman Amy Carnevale, a lobbyist for K&L Gates, told the Washington Examiner of the event with her group. “The questions ranged from Israel, the campaign, primary process, economy, schools, taxes, a wide range of topics.”

At the closed-door fundraisers, DeSantis sought to make his White House pitch to donors while facing questions over his path to the nomination, Politico reported — noting the governor mostly avoided mentioning former President Donald Trump. The former president has a commanding 58.8% lead in the Republican primary, while support for DeSantis stands at 13%, according to a RealClearPolitics survey average.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is polling at an average of 8.3%. Carnevale has been in contact with the Trump campaign about him coming to Massachusetts and is expecting to finalize an invitation in November for Haley to be featured at a state event, the chairwoman told the Washington Examiner.

“We have not and will not do an endorsement,” Carnevale said of the primary field.

Nick Rohlman/AP

In a video posted on social media on Monday, DeSantis said his campaign is “excited to have been able to meet with some folks from the local party,” noting, “This is a little bit tough sledding in a general election, but this primary is going to be very, very important.”

Trump earned 86% support in the 2020 Massachusetts Republican presidential primary and 49.3% in 2016, with ex-Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) coming in second at 18%. DeSantis is banking on the GOP in the Bay State being willing to move on from the high-polling former president while facing competition from Haley, who now leads the Florida governor in New Hampshire.

The DeSantis campaign has come under significant media scrutiny since launching over laying off a third of its staff this past summer and spending large sums on private jets. The latest filings with the Federal Election Commission showed the campaign reduced its travel spending in September by millions of dollars and had $1 million in unpaid invoices.

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The campaign spent $11 million in the third quarter of 2023 and received about the same, according to filings. Trump topped the GOP field, pulling in $24.5 million between July and September, while President Joe Biden’s haul was $24.7 million.

“He’s my guy until he’s not my guy,” Massachusetts state Rep. Kelly Pease, a Republican, told Politico, speaking of DeSantis. “And I hope he’s the guy.”