JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s three Presidential candidates are all dealing with unique financial troubles as they make their push for the Oval Office.
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Former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez are all Presidential candidates that call the Sunshine State home.
Newly filed campaign finance records show in the first half of this year Trump led in fundraising, bringing in $53 million.
DeSantis raked in $20 million, while Suarez managed just shy of a million.
But Trump also led in money spent, blowing through $43 million, equaling more than five times the other two candidates’ spending combined.
UNF political science professor Sean Freeder noted most of that money paid for Trump’s legal defense against a growing number of criminal probes and indictments.
“Every new indictment is probably also seen within the campaign as a fundraising opportunity. So, the question kind of becomes how much money are you raising off the back of the indictments versus how much are you burning through because of the indictments?” said Freeder.
Looking at cash on hand, Trump holds the lead with $32 million in the bank, compared to DeSantis’ $12 million and Suarez’s $1 million.
But when you look at the candidates’ affiliated Super PACs, it’s DeSantis who leads with $97 million, a bankroll more than three times that of the other two candidates.
However, Freeder pointed out that relying on Super PACs can be a double-edged sword, as campaigns can’t legally coordinate with them.
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“If DeSantis’ campaign has a specific message they want to use to catch up with Trump during the fall campaign, during the early Primary dates, it means that they might not be able to communicate what message they’d like to have passed on,” said Freeder.
How the money situation has translated in the polls tells a pretty clear story.
Trump, the current frontrunner, leads number two seed DeSantis by nearly 36 points in the Real Clear Politics Polling Average.
Suarez doesn’t even manage to break into the top ten Republican candidates.
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