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