Republicans Urge Ron DeSantis to End His Presidential Campaign and Just be Florida's Governor

A grassroots political group in Florida, the Florida Republican Assembly, has published a proclamation calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to withdraw from the 2024 race and instead concentrate on his current position as governor. The concern that led to the proclamation is that DeSantis has put the needs of the people second to his own personal ambitions.

As reported by Newsweek the organization said that since its formal debut in May, DeSantis' 2024 campaign has not generated any "significant momentum" or good poll results. Despite early optimism that DeSantis would be a formidable contender, he now lags well behind former President Trump in the polls. His capacity to win over voters and make headway in the primary is in question due to this lack of backing.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sought the support of business leaders, lawyers, and lobbyists whose employers or clients have financial interests before the state government as his presidential campaign faced publicized financial strains. According to a Seeking Rents study of recent campaign-finance disclosures, more than sixty executives at the firm that controls Florida's biggest electric provider contributed more than $100,000 to Florida Gov. DeSantis' presidential campaign this summer.

NextEra Energy Inc., headquartered in Juno Beach and the Fortune 500 giant that owns Florida Power & Light, contributed to DeSantis' campaign. Among these donors were the company's CEO, CFO, HR head, and presidents of both of the company's major divisions. According to federal finance filings, more than 38 percent of the $31.2 million DeSantis collected for his official campaign between May and September 30 came from Floridian contributors. 

According to Politico, most of the primary funds have already been spent, and the rest of the money in the campaign coffers can't be used in the primary. Much of his money, significantly more than for other Republican contenders, comes from maxed-out primary contributors who can't contribute more.

The communications director Andrew Romeo stated, "Not only has Ron DeSantis garnered support from over 100,000 grassroots conservative donors, but he also has more donors who are all-in to support his vision to revive America than any other candidate in the field. It seems like you should be asking the other campaigns why they’ve had to compensate for lackluster enthusiasm with gift cards and other bullshit gimmicks that we have too much respect for our supporters to deploy." Donors who have already donated the maximum amount to DeSantis' campaign may still give to Never Back Down, a super PAC that has spent more than $37 million on advertising and offered on-the-ground assistance in early primary states. The campaign and the super PAC, however, cannot legally work together. DeSantis will need to increase the size of his donor network to gather more cash as he works to strengthen his position before the primary season.