Ron DeSantis says he has raised more than $8Million in first 24 hours of presidential campaign

Ron DeSantis has raised $8.2 million in the first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, his campaign said Thursday, despite his disastrous campaign lunch on Twitter.

The massive sum cements his position as the main rival to former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, and far exceeds the amount raised by President Joe Biden over the same period.

DeSantis formally kicked off his campaign Wednesday night in a shambolic announcement when the Florida Governor joined Elon Musk on Twitter Spaces – the app’s live audio streaming feature.

But the stream was delayed and crashed repeatedly, making it difficult for most users to hear the announcement in real time.

However, it appears this has not slowed his campaign down or dampened supporters’ enthusiasm as they said donors raised $1 million in just a single hour.

DeSantis’ early campaign funding also pips President Biden who managed to race $6.3 million in his first 24 hours after initially announcing his candidacy in 2019, and the $6.1 million raised by the former Texan Congressman Beto O’Rourke.

This is also double the financing raised by Trump’s campaign in the same time period after his criminal indictment in March earlier this year.

The $8.2 million in funding for the DeSantis campaign includes both online contributions and donors who gave their money at the ‘Ron-O-Rama’ campaign event at the grand ballroom in the Four Seasons, Miami.

It is unknown how many donors have contributed to the campaign so far. 

The substantial total also does not include financing secured by pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down. The funding from the super PAC can be directly transferred to DeSantis’s campaign. It is unknown how much money is in the super PAC.

The influx of funding will now finance a demanding political schedule as DeSantis flies across the country to raise his profile.

The Republican governor on Thursday announced plans for a three-state blitz next week featuring at least a dozen stops.

DeSantis is scheduled to campaign Tuesday and Wednesday in Iowa before a trip to New Hampshire on Thursday and South Carolina on Friday.

‘We are laser-focused on taking Gov. DeSantis’ forward-thinking message for restoring America to every potential voter in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina,’ campaign manager Generra Peck said.

‘Our campaign is committed to putting in the time to win these early nominating states. No one will work harder than Gov. DeSantis to share his vision with the country – he has only begun to fight.’

DeSantis is casting himself as the only legitimate Republican rival in the GOP’s crowded primary to former President Donald Trump, who holds a big lead in early polls along with a firm grip on a significant portion of the GOP’s passionate base.

The news comes despite a shambolic start to his campaign over Twitter.

The Florida governor shrugged off the chaotic start in a follow-up video clip after the Twitter event, saying he ‘broke the internet.’

While the delivery was a joke and appeared to make light of the haywire announcement, DeSantis did not crack a smile – although he did manage a brief grimace as he ended his speech.

During his conversation with Musk, DeSantis touted his record dealing with COVID, taking veiled swipes at Donald Trump and promising to reverse ‘everything’ President Biden was doing at the border.

He also attacked Disney, the NAACP travel ban to Florida and the GOP’s ‘culture of losing’ in a campaign launched with Elon Musk plagued by glitches on Twitter Spaces.

The highly-anticipated start of his 2024 White House run started 26 minutes late and crashed multiple times as hundreds of thousands of users tuned in to listen to DeSantis’ conversation with the Twitter CEO.

‘I am running for president of the United States to lead our great American comeback,’ DeSantis said. ‘But we know our country’s going in the wrong direction. We see it with our own eyes. And we feel it in our bones.’