So I logged in yesterday to the Twitter Space where Elon Musk was hosting Ron DeSantis for DeSantis’ announcement that he was running for president. I watched the number of people in the Space grow to high six figures. Reportedly the number reach about a million people but the last number I recall seeing was just under 700,000.
And then the technical problems, and the failure to launch on time. When I finally connected to a live feed, there were (approximately, my memory is a little fuzzy on this) close to 400,000 people in the Space. Certainly this was not the ignition and lift off Team DeSantis wanted, but if there’s a silver lining, the huge number of people simultaneously trying to log in to hear DeSantis should be a good sign for the campaign. Then began the typical campaign silly and childish 24-hours news cycle which no one will remember and no undecided or persuadable voter will care about.
The DeSantis campaign is reporting raising $8.2 million in the first 24-hours:
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida raised $8.2 million in his first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, his campaign said on Thursday, a huge sum that cements his standing as the leading Republican rival to Donald J. Trump.
Mr. DeSantis’s campaign began on Wednesday evening with a glitch-filled kickoff on Twitter, but that apparently did not slow donor enthusiasm. The campaign said on Wednesday that it had raised $1 million during a single hour.
The $8.2 million figure is more than the $6.3 million that Joseph R. Biden Jr. raised in his first 24 hours as a candidate in 2019, or the $6.1 million raised by former Representative Beto O’Rourke that same year….
The sum is roughly double the $4 million that Mr. Trump’s campaign said it had raised in the 24 hours after his criminal indictment earlier this year, though most of that money was raised organically online.
The DeSantis sum includes both online contributions and donations secured by bundlers who had gathered on Thursday at the grand ballroom in the Four Seasons in Miami for what was called a Ron-O-Rama to make fund-raising calls for the campaign.
Bryan Griffin, a DeSantis spokesman, said the campaign was raising both primary and general election funds. The campaign can raise $3,300 per donor for both the primary and general election. He declined to say how money was earmarked for use only in the general election, should Mr. DeSantis become the nominee.
Next up, the tour:
In what may be the greatest in-kind donation to the DeSantis campaign, Mexico’s President said not to vote for DeSantis because he’s too tough on the border and illegal immigrants:
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday urged Latino voters not to back Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the next U.S. presidential election, accusing the Republican politician of trying to win votes at the expense of migrants.DeSantis said Wednesday he would seek the 2024 Republican nomination for president and vowed to build a wall on the Mexico border, the latest in a series of hardline comments on immigration that he says resonate with Latino voters who want strong enforcement.López Obrador dismissed those comments.“All of his playing politics with migrants was because he wanted to be the Republican party candidate,” López Obrador told a government press conference. “I hope the Hispanics of Florida wake up and don’t give him a single vote.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY