DeSantis Outraises Other Incumbent Governors Running For Reelection

By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has outraised other governors running for reelection in the United States.

As of Sept. 2, his campaign had raised $166,578,634, Transparency USA reports. His top donor was the Republican Governors Association, which gave $17.35 million.

DeSantis is running for his second term against Democrat Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor of Florida who switched parties to run for Congress as a Democrat.

According to an Oct. 5 Mason-Dixon poll, DeSantis is projected to beat Crist by a vote of 52%-41%. A RealClear Politics average of polls has him leading by 11 points.

None of the other six governors running for reelection evaluated by Transparency USA have raised anywhere near the amount that DeSantis has.

The evaluation excludes Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has largely self-funded his political campaign, giving himself $110 million this year alone.

According to an Oct. 14 Chicago Sun Times/PPP poll, Pritzker leads his Republican challenger by 15 points.

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The governor who raised the second largest amount behind DeSantis on Transparency USA’s list was Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott, who’s running for his third term, raised $69,538,463, according to reporting data from Jan. 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.

Abbott’s largest donor, after himself, was S. Javaid Anwar, who gave $1.8 million. Anwar is owner and president of Midland Energy, Inc., Petroplex Energy, Inc. and Western T. Corporation.

According to an Oct. 12 Marist poll, Abbott leads his Democratic challenger by 8 points.

The third- and fourth-highest fundraisers among incumbents running for reelection in Transparency USA’s analysis are the Democratic governors of Wisconsin and Michigan.

Gov. Tony Evers raised $26,110,543 and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer raised $26,046,921.

Evers’ top donor was the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which gave over $8.3 million.

Whitmer’s five top donors each gave $250,000, including Gov. Pritzker.

According to recent polls published by RealClear Politics, both Evers and Whitmer appear to be in statistical ties with their Republican opponents.

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine raised over $15 million; California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom raised over $14.8 million; Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz raised $6.3 million, according to the report.

DeWine’s top donor was the Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee, which gave over $1.9 million. Newsom’s and Waltz’s top donations came from aggregated unitemized contributions of over $1.7 million and over $2 million, respectively. Waltz’s top six donors each gave $8,000.

DeWine, Newsom and Waltz are all expected to win their races, according to the latest polls.

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In addition to Pritzker, the analysis excludes campaign finance data for numerous incumbent governors running for reelection, including Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolek, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, among others.

Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.