Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) raised $8.2 million in his first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, his campaign said on Thursday. The announcement comes after DeSantis’ glitch-filled launch announcement on Twitter Spaces, a technical disaster widely viewed as an embarrassing gaffe for the governor. Funds were solicited from both online and in-person donors, with the latter’s contributions being bundled in a grand ballroom in the Four Seasons Miami for an event called Ron-O-Rama, according to The New York Times. The newspaper also reported that a pro-DeSantis super PAC is planning a $200 million donation, but is hampered by a strict donation cap. Still, the sum outstrips the $6.3 million raised by President Joe Biden in his first day as a candidate for the 2020 presidential election. Former President Donald Trump raised a comparatively paltry $9.5 million in the first six weeks after he announced his 2024 campaign last November.
