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Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia
National
Kalyn Stralow

Florida Gov. DeSantis receives $166.5 million, with Republican Governors Association as top donor

Gov. Ron DeSantis is the top fundraiser in Florida state politics in the 2022 election cycle so far. According to campaign finance reports made to the Florida Secretary of State, the governor received $166,578,634 in total contributions and spent $42,429,904 between Jan. 1, 2021 and Sept. 2, 2022. DeSantis is running for re-election in 2022.

Gov. DeSantis is a member of the Republican Party and first assumed office in 2019.

Contributions to Gov. DeSantis

Of the $166.5 million already reported in the 2022 election cycle, 31.9 percent came from the top 10 donors.

Top Donors to Gov. DeSantis (1/1/2021 – 9/2/2022)

Rank Total Amount Donor Name  Donor Type
1. $17,350,000.00 Republican Governors Association – Federal ENTITY
2. $10,000,000.00 Robert T Bigelow INDIVIDUAL
3. $9,895,062.31 Republican Party of Florida ENTITY
4. $5,093,175.47 State of Florida ENTITY
5. $5,000,000.00 Kenneth C Griffin INDIVIDUAL
6. $2,000,000.00 Club for Growth PAC ENTITY
7. $1,250,000.00 Walter W Buckley Jr INDIVIDUAL
8. $1,000,000.00 Seminole Tribe of Florida ENTITY
9. $900,000.00 David F Macneil INDIVIDUAL
10. $750,000.00 James A Bowen Jr INDIVIDUAL

Expenditures by Gov. DeSantis

On the expenditures side, Gov. DeSantis reported over $42.4 million, with 83.9 percent of all spending going to the 10 payees topping the list. 

Top Expenditures by Gov. DeSantis (1/1/2021 – 9/2/2021)

Rank Total Amount Payee Name  Payee Type
1. $18,490,273.86 Republican Party of Florida ENTITY
2. $4,787,489.40 Flexpoint Media Inc ENTITY
3. $4,099,826.00 Blitz Canvassing LLC ENTITY
4. $2,500,000.00 Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, Inc. ENTITY
5. $1,858,441.39 Ace Specialties LLC ENTITY
6. $1,475,000.00 1vision ENTITY
7. $911,327.73 Anedot Inc ENTITY
8. $598,824.78 Election Connections Inc ENTITY
9. $495,213.00 The Lukens Company ENTITY
10. $394,702.76 Spectrum Monthly LLC ENTITY

How Gov. DeSantis’s fundraising compares to other governors

Among elected officials holding the same level of state office, fundraising varies widely. A number of factors, including whether an incumbent officeholder is running for reelection, influence donor activity. Here is how fundraising by Gov. DeSantis compares to the 10 other governors with campaign finance data available from Transparency USA in 2022:

Fundraising reported by 11 U.S. governors in the 2022 election cycle

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Florida PACs submitted to the Florida Secretary of State. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.

Name of Report Reporting Period Deadline
2021 Q4 (2021 M12) 10/1/2021 – 12/31/2021 1/10/2022
2022 Q1 (2022 M1,M2,M3) 1/1/2022 – 3/31/2022 4/11/2022
2022 Primary 2 (M4, M5, Primary 1 & P2) 4/1/2022 – 6/30/2022 7/8/2022
2022 General 1 (Primary 2, 2A, 3,4,5,6, P7 & General 1, G1A) 7/1/2022 – 9/2/2022 9/9/2022
2022 General 3 (General 2,2A,3 & 3A) 9/3/2022 – 9/30/2022 10/7/2022
2023 Jan Semiannual (General 4, 4A, 5 & Semiannual) 10/1/2022 – 12/31/2022 1/10/2023

This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.

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