They seem to be hedging their bets?
Of course Ron DeSantis IS looking for a Governor return vote this November ….
Then his 2024 Presiddntial run would continue….
A DeSantis-aligned political committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis, has received $3.4 million this election cycle from 10 donors who collectively spent $24 million on Trump’s reelection bid. Most of the high-dollar donors had never given contributions in state-level Florida elections, while those who have previously provided funds have significantly increased their spending for DeSantis during the 2022 midterms.
Though many donors are focused on November, when the governor is up for reelection, DeSantis’ fundraising signals that he is both a viable 2024 candidate who may not need the former president’s backing and one who is sapping some financial support from Trump.
“I think Ron’s fundraising really speaks for itself,” said Francis Rooney, a former construction company owner, longtime Republican donor and former Florida congressman who was open to impeaching Trump in 2019. “It is possible Trump’s percentage of the Republicans keeps going down and I think it’s possible people will start looking elsewhere.”
DeSantis has already raised more than $100 million — a record setting pace for a single election cycle in Florida — and is an overwhelming favorite to win reelection this year, a victory that could leave him with a huge war chest as the 2024 election cycle begins.
DeSantis has long been expected to run for president in 2024 but over the past year has drastically expanded his national footprint and following among conservatives across the country, who were drawn to his anti-shut down Covid-19 policies and staunch opposition to pandemic-related mandates. He has recently started to run neck-and-neck with Trump or even beaten the former president in early 2024 straw polls, leaving some of the GOP’s biggest donors writing huge checks for DeSantis at a time when that could still come with political risk.
“I know a lot of donors who are kind of in wait-and-see mode,” said Shiree Verdone, who served as Trump’s campaign co-chair in Arizona for both his presidential campaigns. “They really, really like DeSantis, who is very popular, but you don’t want to upset Trump.”…..