As the 2024 GOP nomination race continues, a growing number of donors are expressing concerns about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ performance so far. DeSantis brought in an impressive $20 million in the first six weeks of his campaign, but recent stagnation in polling data is worrying backers.
The primary concern for many of these donors (who elected to remain anonymous when speaking with CNBC) is the massive polling gap between DeSantis and the current frontrunner, former President Donald J. Trump. According to the most recent FiveThirtyEight polling data, Trump is backed by 49.4 percent of the Republican base and DeSantis holds second place with 21.2 percent. The remainder is split between Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, none of whom have double-digit support.
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Ken Griffin, CEO of hedge fund Citadel and a GOP megadonor, is “assessing the field” despite confidently backing DeSantis, according to a statement released via a spokesman. Griffin has been a DeSantis supporter since 2022 when he told Politico that DeSantis “has a tremendous record as governor of Florida, and our country would be well-served by him as president.” Griffin gave no sign of backing another candidate despite his assessment of the field, indicating that the hedge fund manager may simply be hedging his bets as the race intensifies.
The DeSantis campaign is pushing back against donor concerns, expressing very little worry about polling data this far out from the election. “You could wallpaper the governor’s residence with the amount of premature political obituaries written about Ron DeSantis. Challenging the establishment is never easy — and this campaign to save our nation is going to be a long, hard-fought battle to defeat Joe Biden,” DeSantis spokesman Andrew Romeo told CNBC. “We are building an organization that will go the distance. Ron DeSantis is putting in the work to win, and as voters across the country continue to learn about his forward-looking plans to reverse Biden’s failures, he will earn the nomination.”
A Much Bigger Problem
It remains to be seen whether big-money backers will abandon DeSantis in the long run, but there is a much bigger problem plaguing the governor’s campaign: marketing.
In the competition against a businessman and entertainer like Trump, DeSantis is struggling to set himself apart as a charismatic leader despite his impressive resume. In the latest episode of the PBD Podcast, Patrick Bet-David and special guest Lauren Chen discussed this very problem. As PBD put it: “Your marketing team sucks!”
With the do-or-die deadline of the Iowa Caucus approaching, it might be time for the DeSantis team to consider a radical change in strategy.
Check out PBD and Lauren Chen’s full breakdown:
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