Table of Contents
Ron DeSantis’s 2024 Presidential Campaign Spending Spree
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spent approximately 1.5 million dollars on a private jet during a three-month period in his 2024 presidential campaign, even as his White House bid faces financial challenges.
Ron DeSantis, often seen as the primary rival to Donald Trump in the GOP primaries, has come under scrutiny for heavy spending on his private travels, despite facing financial constraints in his campaign. It appears that his campaign spent almost as much on private jet travel as they did on third-quarter financial filings.
As reported by Politico, while Ron DeSantis’s campaign made trips on commercial flights during the previous quarter, they also spent 1.5 million dollars on private jet travel. The campaign paid at least six private jet providers: Advanced Aviation Team, Avian Aviation, Empire Jet, IZRAJets, N2024D LLC, and Silver Air Private Jets. The Washington Post noted that most private flights were halted in July and August, with only IZRAJets showing a charge in September.
Many of the flights were to Iowa, the first crucial caucus state in the country, where DeSantis’s team has pinned its hopes on a strong showing in January to boost his 2024 bid.
The amount spent on private jet travel has come to light as DeSantis’s 2024 presidential campaign faces financial struggles. Recent filings reveal that the campaign has spent nearly 12.3 million out of the 31.3 million dollars raised during the campaign so far, with only 5 million dollars left in cash for the primary season.
This amount is significantly less than the 20 million dollars DeSantis had raised in the first six weeks of his 2024 campaign, officially launched in May.
Attempts have been made to reach out to DeSantis’s office for comment.
Recent reports suggest that DeSantis’s campaign is making efforts to cut costs by moving nearly a third of its staff from Florida to Iowa, focusing more on the state’s primary operations.
According to the latest filings, DeSantis’s team is trying to curtail spending, with approximately 6 million dollars in July, 3.8 million dollars in August, and 1.3 million dollars in September, despite still nearly exhausting the total amount raised in the third quarter.
It comes after reports that the campaign spent excessively in the early months of the 2024 campaign, resulting in the removal of almost 38 staff members – nearly a third of the team – in July.
Trump, despite facing financial challenges himself, continues to lead in the GOP primary polls.
His latest filing reveals that his campaign raised 24.5 million dollars in the first three months and spent 37.5 million dollars in cash in October. However, it remains unclear how much Trump can retain for the primary season from this amount.
In the previous quarter, Trump spent 9.5 million dollars on his campaign, which is about 1.5 million dollars less than DeSantis.
In a post on Truth Social on October 10, Trump suggested that DeSantis might soon be out of the GOP primary race due to his financial troubles and declining poll numbers.
Trump wrote, “Ron DeSantis has a pole number that dropped out of the sky. I am 57 points up, and going up. He will be out of the race for President soon due to money, the [SIC] alone, having run for Governor without any thanks or congratulations, is a beautiful thing to watch. Congratulations Ron!”