[ad_1]
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been warned by his biggest individual funder to adopt a more moderate agenda or risk losing additional donations.
Hotelier Robert Bigelow, based in Los Angeles, California, and who donated $20 million to the governor’s 2024 presidential campaign in March, told Reuters in an exclusive interview Friday that he wants to see DeSantis ease up on some of his more divisive policies before Bigelow continues to contribute.
“He does need to shift to get to moderates,” Bigelow said. “He’ll lose if he doesn’t … Extremism isn’t going to get you elected.”
Sergio FLORES / AFP via Getty
The warning was delivered as DeSantis’ poll numbers continue to slip behind former President Donald Trump, who has held a substantial lead over his Republican competitors ahead of the next GOP primary. In a New York Times/Siena College poll released on Monday, which surveyed 818 registered Republican voters likely to cast ballots in the spring primary, DeSantis was trailing the former president by 37 points.
According to Reuters, Bigelow specifically listed the six-week abortion ban that DeSantis signed in Florida earlier this year when asked which policies bothered him. He also told the outlet that he’s expressed his concerns to the governor.
Bigelow also indicated that he does not intend to continue to donate to DeSantis’ campaign. “Not until I see that he’s able to generate more on his own. I’m already too big a percentage,” he said. “A lot of his donors are still on the fence.”
Newsweek sent a message to DeSantis’ press team through his online inquiry portal Friday night for comment.
While DeSantis has been consistently lagging Trump in polls, his campaign dollars have been far exceeding that of the former president. In early July, the governor’s team told Fox News that it had raised $150 million between his campaign and his affiliated political action committee, Never Back Down.
That same week, Trump’s campaign reported that it had raised around $35 million.
DeSantis’ administration has repeatedly found itself in the national spotlight over its divisive policies. Just last week, the Florida Department of Education (DOE) was condemned after releasing new standards for how students will be taught Black history and slavery lessons, which now must include lessons on “how slaves developed skills, which in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” The new standard has been criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike.
Earlier this week, DeSantis’ policies again made headlines after the College Board released a statement encouraging schools to not offer Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology because it does not align with Florida’s educational standards. According to the letter, the course covers content related to sexual orientation and gender identity, which is effectively banned under state law.
Cassie Palelis, deputy director of communications at the Florida Department of Education, told Newsweek in an email earlier this week that the state “didn’t ‘ban’ the course.”
“We encourage the College Board to stop playing games with Florida students and continue to offer the course and allow teachers to operate accordingly,” read the email.
[ad_2]
