Deep-pocketed Florida donors help keep DeSantis’ presidential hopes alive with six-figure contributions

Billionaires are helping. So are Florida real estate developers. And even, in a small way, so is an Italian restaurant in Fort Lauderdale.

The money fueling Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign is coming from deep-pocketed donors, the kind of individuals and businesses who can write six-figure checks to the super PAC that’s paying for essential campaign activities: candidate appearances, polling, field workers and advertising.

Without the contributions to the Never Back Down political action committee that’s assumed responsibility for those basic campaign functions, DeSantis’ troubled campaign for the Republican presidential nomination would be in desperate shape.

Never Back Down’s first campaign report, filed late Monday night, details the money raised from around the country.

The biggest single donor, by far, is Robert Bigelow, a Las Vegas billionaire — and owner of owner of Budget Suites of America — who contributed more than $20 million to the super PAC on March 30, at a point when DeSantis’ entry into the presidential contest was eagerly anticipated by Republicans who wanted an alternative to former President Donald Trump as the party’s 2024 nominee.

Bigelow, the owner of Bigelow Aerospace who was described by the Las Vegas Sun as having a “fascination with the paranormal” and by Bloomberg as someone “with a passion for UFOs,” is a major donor to conservative candidates and causes, including an earlier DeSantis committee.

Florida produced the second-highest contribution, $5 million, from an entity called Faithful & Strong Policies Inc. It’s associated with Scott Wagner, a lawyer residing in both Broward and Palm Beach counties and DeSantis appointee to the South Florida Water Management District.

Another six contributors gave at least $1 million to Never Back Down. Of the 175 contributors, about 70 were six-figure donors, giving between $100,000 and $1 million.

Almost three dozen Florida businesses and individuals, including both prominent and little-known names from South Florida, contributed $100,000 or more to the DeSantis effort.

Among them:

•Ron Bergeron, the Broward developer, entrepreneur, conservationist, sometimes alligator wrestler gave $250,000. After DeSantis won the 2018 gubernatorial primary, Bergeron hosted him for a tour of the Everglades to help burnish his environmental credentials. As governor he appointed Bergeron to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

•Barbara Feingold, a Delray Beach philanthropist and retired dental company executive, gave $100,000. Feingold is a DeSantis appointee to the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees. She and her late husband, Jeffrey Feingold, were co-chairs of the delegation accompanying DeSantis on his 2019 trip to Israel, his first overseas travel as governor.

•Norman Braman, the Miami billionaire philanthropist and automobile dealer, gave $100,000. Braman was one of the most prominent financial backers of the unsuccessful 2016 presidential candidacy of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

There were another two dozen contributions from Florida between $50,000 and $100,000, such as the $50,000 from Ed Pozzuoli, CEO of the Fort Lauderdale-based Tripp Scott law firm and a former chairman of the Broward Republican Party.

And there were a handful of four-figure contributors. The smallest from South Florida was $2,500 from Il Mulino, an Italian restaurant in Fort Lauderdale.

Developers

Florida developers and people in the real estate business were especially generous to the super PAC supporting the Florida governor, contributing at least $3 million.

Among them: Leaders of GL Homes, headquartered in Sunrise and one of the nation’s leading homebuilders.

Misha Ezratti, GL Homes president, gave $50,000; Maya Ezratti, GL Homes director of community affairs, gave $50,000; and Maxie Ezratti, listed on the finance report as a self-employed mental health counselor, also gave $50,000. All three contributions were made on June 28, and all three listed the same Sunrise mailing address.

Several Never Back Down donors, including Misha Ezratti, either didn’t respond to requests for comment or declined to comment through representatives.

Differing policies

As the COVID pandemic subsided and DeSantis began looking toward a presidential candidacy, he positioned himself as an outspoken opponent of so-called “woke” ideology, as an opponent of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and as a proponent of restrictions on abortion rights.

But some of DeSantis’ donors have backed diversity initiatives. The Orlando Magic contributed $50,000. The prominent conservative DeVos family — one of whose members is the controversial former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos — owns the basketball team.

The team website said it believes “sports have the ability to bridge divides and bring people together. Consequently, we are committed to driving awareness, creating change and cultivating an inclusive culture where everyone feels welcomed, valued and appreciated.” It also explains that it supports “Supporting Diversity, Equity & Inclusion All Year Long,” and during October’s “LGBTQIA+ History Month” the Magic “celebrated inclusivity, diversity and pride together.”

An Orlando Magic representative told news organizations that the contribution, dated June 26 in the Never Back Down’s filing with the Federal Election Commission, was actually made on May 19. “To clarify, this gift was given before Gov. DeSantis entered the presidential race. It was given as a Florida business in support of a Florida governor for the continued prosperity of Central Florida,” a team spokesperson said.

Despite the team’s explanation, the widely publicized purpose for the super PAC was supporting DeSantis, and at the point the team said it made the contribution, he was already traveling the country as an unofficial presidential candidate. He formally announced his candidacy five days after the Magic’s contribution to Never Back Down.

A DeVos family spokesperson told The Hill that, “No member of the DeVos family has decided to endorse or offer financial support to any 2024 Presidential candidate at this point.”

One name that wasn’t included in the super PAC donors was Ken Griffin, the hedge fund manager who moved his firms and himself to Miami last year and had been a public cheerleader and donor to the governor’s reelection campaign. National news organizations have reported that Griffin’s support has cooled.

The New York Times reported Griffin was concerned about DeSantis’ statements about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the DeSantis-signed six-week abortion ban. The Financial Times reported that Griffin objected to “a recent clampdown on teaching about gender and sexuality and DeSantis’s ongoing fight with Disney.”

Public relations

DeSantis has become a dominant political force in Florida, sometimes overshadowing Trump, as he has used his position as governor to push through conservative policies on a range of culture-war issues concerning abortion, education, race relations and the LGBTQ community.

As a result, he is a polarizing figure.

A Florida Atlantic University poll in July found 54% of Florida voters approve of the way he is handling his job as governor, including 41% who strongly approve. His disapproval stands at 43%, including 34% who strongly disapprove.

There is a deep partisan divide, with 86% of Republicans approving, 76% of Democrats disapproving of his performance.

Gregory Koger, a University of Miami political scientist, said some businesses supporting DeSantis could see some blowback.

“Both name brand businesses and their owners face a risk of public criticism of their donations, both from consumers who don’t support the same candidate,” he said.

And that doesn’t mean just Democrats. Some Trump supporters are furious with DeSantis for challenging the former president for the 2024 nomination.

“I can imagine if I were a strong Trump supporter, I might then avoid a business that was pro-DeSantis,” Koger said.

Still, he added, it would likely make a difference only at the margins.

Never Back Down

The super PAC was formed in February, beginning with $1 million from Stefan Brodie of Fisher Island, the founder of a company that develops and manufactures resin beads used in a range of technology, health science and other products. He later gave another $1 million.

Overall, Never Back Down reported raising $130.6 million and spending $33.8 million.

Its $96.8 million cash balance as of June 30 was far more than other such committees — and three times the cash reported by the super PAC that supports Trump.

The Trump-backing Make America Great Again Inc. had a cash balance of $30.8 million on June 30.

Never Back Down’s topline numbers don’t tell the entire story.

Three-fifths of the total income was the $82.5 million transferred from DeSantis’ previous state political action committee. Even though much of the money raised was ostensibly to support his gubernatorial reelection, donors were long aware of his presidential aspirations.

The Campaign Legal Center has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission arguing that DeSantis and his state PAC illegally transferred the money to the federal Super PAC.

DeSantis’ official campaign committee can’t accept the kind of big-dollar donations that can flow into the super PAC.

An official presidential campaign can’t take corporate money and can take only $3,300 for the primary and $3,300 for the general election from each individual. Supposedly independent super PACs can take unlimited donations.

His presidential campaign committee raised more than $20 million since he formally became a candidate in May. But he spent so much of that money, $8 million, by the end of June, he’s had to retrench, scaling back spending and laying off more than one-third of the staff.

The presidential campaign entity has been restructuring to cut costs after facing questions about heavy spending and Never Back Down is playing an increasing role in providing the infrastructure for the DeSantis effort.

It’s the super PAC, not the DeSantis campaign, that’s paying for:

•TV advertising, including the newest 30-second spot, released Monday, airing in the first two nominating states, Iowa and New Hampshire, and on conservative cable channels Fox and Newsmax. It attempts to appeal to the voters by highlighting inspiring elements of DeSantis’ background.

•Bus tours of Iowa, including the four-stop swing on Friday and Saturday, so he can meet with voters.

•Field staff. The super PAC announced late last month that its team had knocked on 1 million doors, so far, part of a voter contact ground game aimed at personal engagement with voters in the first 18 states in the Republican nomination process.

As Never Back Down spent just under $34 million through June 30, DeSantis’ fortunes declined.

When the super PAC was announced in March, the Real Clear Politics national polling average had Trump ahead of DeSantis among Republicans, 43% to 28%, an advantage of 15 percentage points for the former president.

At the end of June, after DeSantis had been campaigning heavily and Never Back Down’s spending, Trump’s standing had increased to 52% and DeSantis’ had declined to 23% — a difference of 29 percentage points.

South Florida contributors to Never Back Down

Peter Mason (Talus Advisors LLC), Palm Beach, $15,000.

Ramzi Achi (Fort Partners, Miami, $25,000.Cor Carruthers (Kinderhook Inc.), Miami, $25,000.

George Heisel (Expocredit LLC), Miami, $25,000.

Ed Pozzuoli, Fort Lauderdale, $50,000.

Lewis Stahl (Nextgen Management LLC), Boca Raton, $50,000.

John Hayes (Hayes Locums), Fort Lauderdale, $50,000.

Betty Roschman, Fort Lauderdale, $50,000.

Eduserve Inc., Fort Lauderdale, $50,000.

Launched Inc., Fort Lauderdale, $50,000.

Ernest Schuetz (Warderick Wells LLC), Key Biscayne, $50,000.

Brent Mills, Lantana, $50,000 June 27.

BT Sundance LLC, Miami, $50,000 May 19.

Murray Goodman (The Goodman Company), Palm Beach, $50,000, June 1.

Troy Link (WCM Investments) Parkland, $50,000.

Gerald Glass (EZVerify & Validate LLC), Sunrise, $50,000.

Howard Halpern (retired), Boca Raton, $87,000.

Richard Cole (Cole, Scott & Kissane PA), Miami, $100,000.

James Pallotta (Raptor Group), Miami Beach, $100,000.

David Flory (retired), Miami Beach, $100,000.

William Wrigley Jr., (Palm Beach Enterprises LLC), West Palm Beach, $100,000.

Alan Potamkin (Potamkin Companies), Surfside, $100,000.

Christopher Vincze (TRC Companies Inc.), Tequesta, $100,000.

Jeffrey Silverman (retired), Surfside, $150,000.

Thomas Smith (Prescott Investors), Boca Raton, $200,000.

Nadim Ashi (Fort Partners), Miami, $250,000.

Hugh Culverhouse (Palmer Ranch Holdings), Coral Gables, $250,000.

Robert Bishop, (Impala Asset Management), Palm Beach, $350,000.

W. McDowell (McDowell Properties), Miami Beach, $400,000.

Buckley, North Palm Beach, $500,000.

Saul Fox, Miami Beach, $1 million.

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