United States | Big-donor populism

Ron DeSantis is relying on big donors and his super PAC

The latest campaign-finance disclosures look good for him but disguise a flaw

Cardboard cutouts of former President Donald Trump and the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis.
Image: AP

For Ron DeSantis, whose presidential campaign began in earnest eight weeks ago on a glitchy Twitter live-stream, even good news seems to be bad news. Newly released data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show the Florida governor outraised Donald Trump during the second quarter and raised some 43% more than his competitors Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Chris Christie and Mike Pence combined. But these splashy fundraising numbers disguise a looming problem for Mr DeSantis: an overreliance on big-dollar donors.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Big-donor populism”

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