Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign announced Thursday that it raised over $20 million since it launched in late May, while the super PAC supporting him has taken in another $130 million so far.
The two hauls are fueling a Republican presidential race that has gotten expensive fast, with TV ads and campaign cash already flying as DeSantis and others run against former President Donald Trump — and as Trump tries to protect his lead.
Fundraising reports are due to be filed with the Federal Election Commission later this month, and the totals cannot be independently confirmed until then. The campaign filing deadline is July 15.
The fundraising haul was first reported by Fox News.
This is DeSantis’ first quarterly fundraising report since he announced he would run for president near the end of May, meaning his $20 million total came in about six weeks. The campaign did not detail its spending or how much money was left in the bank after the end of June.
About $8.2 million of the $20 million total was raised in the first 24 hours after DeSantis announced his bid, the campaign said in May.
Additionally, the super PAC backing DeSantis, called Never Back Down, raised $130 million in the second quarter of this year, the group confirmed to NBC News. Most of that money — more than $80 million — was transferred over from a fund that supported DeSantis' 2022 re-election campaign for governor in Florida.
The only other Republican presidential candidate to release some fundraising numbers so far is former President Donald Trump.
His joint fundraising effort raised more than $35 million from April through June, including money donated to his campaign and to his leadership PAC, Save America. Trump's team did not say how the money raised was divided between each entity.
