Ron DeSantis: Reboot
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Ron DeSantis: Reboot
A tale of high spending and shrinking donations
DeSantis' campaign has claimed they need a reboot.
Why would Desantis’ campaign want a reboot?
The campaign launched officially towards the end of May. It has only been about two months now and the majority of his donors have already maxed out their donations.
It has been reported that he is struggling to get grassroots fundraising.
There is news that his campaign is starting to fire staffers, but this might just be a loophole for the campaign to coordinate with SuperPACS.
Why would you fire staffers so early into a campaign?
SuperPACs are generally willing to spend massive amounts of money on a campaign in an effort to help the campaign, but they generally want to focus their efforts on areas that the campaign itself is deficient in.
Campaigns are not allowed to collaborate directly with SuperPACs.
Since the DeSantis campaign is not allowed to talk with SuperPACs, a loophole is that they could technically fire employees who know what is deficient in the DeSantis campaign, and have those same employees apply for job positions at SuperPACs in order to transfer knowledge.
Is DeSantis’ campaign trying to collaborate with SuperPACs?
DeSantis' campaign FEC paperwork data starts on May 15, 2023. He raised $99,054.03 from 18 donors on May 15, and two days later paid $4,834.08 in processing fees to transfer the money into his bank account.
This enabled him to rent his first office for $54,570 on May 22.
Over the course of the filing summary, he pays the same vendor for processing credit cards to the tune of $927,380.61 while raising $19,735,753.42. His credit card processing fees are at an approximate rate of 4.7% of total incoming contributions.
According to Forbes, the average credit card processing fee in 2023 ranges between 1.5% and 3.5%.
Why is DeSantis paying nearly 5% for credit card processing?
DeSantis spent an approximate $662k on what are almost certainly private jets.
The campaign spent $87k on the Stein Eriksen lodge in Utah.
DeSantis spent a staggering $279k on the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami.
Why is DeSantis paying so much for luxury?
The campaign has a large amount of staffers, and paid an approximate $1 million dollars in payroll and taxes.
Why does he need so many staffers?
Bundlers are professional fundraisers who help a campaign raise money and take a percentage of the money they raise.
There are many "FUNDRAISING CONSULTING" earmarks in DeSantis' filings, which are likely fees paid out to bundlers for raising money. These fees reached an approximate $890k in total.
In just a few weeks, DeSantis spent nearly $8 million dollars of the approximately $20 million that he raised. By the end of the reporting period, the amount of contributors to the campaign started to fall off, except for limited spikes in interest and a final donation drive on the last day.
Some bundlers were only paid single digit consulting fees as donations to the campaign dried up.
Why is DeSantis only paying $1.40 for consulting?
This graph shows the amount of donors on each individual day since the start of the campaign.
Let’s examine the peaks to see what DeSantis did, or didn't do, to grow his donor base.
Point A - May 24 - Campaign announcement on Twitter Spaces with Musk and DeSantis
Point B - May 25 - DeSantis signs the "largest tax relief plan in Florida's history"
Point C - May 30 - Campaign kickoff speech in Iowa
Point D - June 6 - DeSantis signs the digital bill of rights for Floridians
Point E - June 13 - DeSantis makes a judicial appointment
Point F - June 18 - DeSantis does not address the Trump indictment; donors fall off
Point G - June 26 - DeSantis unveils immigration platform at Texas/Mexico Border; some donors return
Point H - Just 30 - Last day of quarterly fundraising; huge rush to raise funds before deadline
Is DeSantis done?
After two months in, the DeSantis campaign appears to be experiencing internal issues and possibly strategic missteps. With a large chunk of their donations spent on high-end accommodations, private jets, and credit card processing fees, the campaign's expenditure is alarmingly high. While they managed to garner nearly $20 million in funds, a significant portion of their donors have tapped out, leading to a decline in contributions despite the occasional spikes in interest.
The campaign's high expenditure also extends to potential loopholes, with reports of staffers being fired potentially to bypass laws preventing coordination with SuperPACs.
Moreover, while the campaign did see a surge in donations during key announcements and strategic events, their lack of strong grassroots support could signify deeper problems.
Taking into account the spending trends and declining donor contributions, it is understandable why the DeSantis campaign is considering rebooting their campaign.
DeSantis' fundraising seems to do better when he is doing good things in Florida, which is interesting because the campaign's "reboot" is seemingly all about moving away from focusing on Florida.
At this point, the question is not whether DeSantis can beat Trump, but whether he can even go the distance.
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