DeSantis Has Enough Cash to Sustain 2024 Bid Into March, Adviser Says

(Bloomberg) -- Ron DeSantis has enough cash to sustain his 2024 US presidential bid past Monday’s Iowa Republican caucus into crucial primaries in March, one of his finance chairs said, reassuring donors concerned about his standing in polls.

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“If we have the success I think we can have in Iowa and exceed expectations, I think fundraising will really be robust,” Roy Bailey said at a Bloomberg News roundtable in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday. “We have plenty of fuel in the tank to get the job done to get into Super Tuesday,” referring to March 5 when 15 states hold GOP primaries.

Yet Bailey acknowledged that a poorer-than-expected performance in the first-in-the-nation Iowa Republican presidential caucus would make it difficult to get donors to continue to bankroll DeSantis’ bid.

“Most people invest into a pathway to win, and so I have to be honest with you, it would be tough if we don’t have a really good night,” he said. “It’s going to be tough for any candidate.”

A Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom poll released Saturday showed DeSantis sliding into third place behind former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner by a wide margin, and ex-UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. DeSantis, once considered the chief rival to Trump for the nomination, had long held the runner-up slot in polls.

That same day, his campaign sent a memo to donors reassuring them that DeSantis’ ground operation will turn out voters on Monday, despite frigid temperatures that could dampen enthusiasm.

Bailey, who is the chief executive officer of Bailey Deason Capital Interests LLC, said the current expectations for DeSantis, tempered from earlier in the presidential cycle, set the table for the campaign to “shock the world” if he overperforms.

“I don’t think you have to beat Trump to win tonight,” Bailey said.

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