The 2024 campaign for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis raised more than $8 million in 24 hours thanks to online donations and donors who gathered at the Four Seasons for a three-day fundraising event dubbed “Ron-O-Rama.”
The fundraising blitz resulted in more than $8.2 million raised in 24 hours, according to numbers first shared with the New York Times and later confirmed by the campaign. The sum exceeds the $6.3 million President Joe Biden raised in his first 24 hours in 2019.
The donor gathering kicked off Wednesday as participants began doing what’s known as “dialing for dollars” and receiving swag that included baseball hats, pens, and stress squeeze balls.
During a presentation given to donors on Thursday, advisers made the case that DeSantis could win the 2024 GOP nomination by showing polling data that had him leading in early voting states, and casting him as more conservative than Trump, according to The Messenger.
Politico also reported the polling information and was first to publish the Ron-O-Rama nickname, which Insider confirmed.
But that’s what most of the mainstream media reported about!
A leaked audio clip from the secret DeSantis donor strategy meeting held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami on Thursday has surfaced, shedding light on key aspects of Governor Ron DeSantis’s campaign plans.
In the leaked audio obtained by Florida Politics, pollster Ryan Tyson can be heard addressing the donors, expressing enthusiasm about the level of recognition Governor DeSantis enjoys on a national scale.
The audio clip reveals that Governor DeSantis stands firmly in favor of maintaining abortion decisions at the state level.
“His position is while he understands that there are ways that the federal government can be helpful to preserve life, the best way that you will preserve life is at the state level. He worries that if the federal government starts getting involved in it with abortion that it’s actually going to open up the door for Democrats to roll back pro-life reforms in many of the states across this country,” the strategist said.
This position is in line with conservative principles and reflects the sentiments shared by many Republicans across the nation. However, the recordings reveal a twist in DeSantis’s approach, indicating a potential shift toward the ‘middle’ during the general election.
“If your concern is in the general election… Trust me when I tell you this. It comes from empirical data and from qualitative feedback. If you are a voter in 2024… and if you are voting on the issue of abortion as one, of the top two issues for determining your vote for president. I would offer to you that our data suggests that that person has a very high correlation with typical Democrat voting behavior,” the strategist said.
The Governor’s advisors recognize the importance of appealing to a broader electorate and believe that adopting a more moderate tone could help solidify his chances of securing victory in a general election.
“So when you’re talking to a pro-choice donor, I don’t think just sort of go by and say, look, abortion is legal in Florida. It is legal in Florida. In most of situations when people have a situation unwanted or an unprotected sex situation, they’re going to use the chemical… fashion, right? So you can come right at them and say, it is legal in Florida. Now, it is limited. It’s limited. You have to be responsible about it. But I don’t think when you’re talking to pro-choice Florida, you sort of skip over it. You have to point out that this is a major step forward for the Republican Party in terms of moving to the middle on the abortion issue.”
You can listen to the full recording below. The abortion topic starts at 27 minutes to 39 minutes.
DeSantis, 44, promised to “lead our great American comeback” and his formal entrance into the race puts him as the top rival against former President Donald Trump, though the ex-president is still a distant favorite and five other candidates are also seeking the nomination.
