As the Ron DeSantis’ reelection train keeps steaming ahead, one thing to watch is who jumps on board.
The governor’s supporters may say something not just about this election cycle, but the next one.
A USA TODAY Network-Florida analysis of DeSantis’ campaign contributions found an unusually high number of billionaires backing the governor’s reelection bid – at least 42.
More:DeSantis has ‘extraordinary’ billionaire support, with at least 42 backing him. Who are they?
Most of these billionaires are from outside Florida, and most didn’t contribute to his first campaign, a sign that they’ve become interested in DeSantis as his political profile has grown and there is increasing buzz about him running for president.
If DeSantis does run for president, having support from these ultra-rich donors worth a combined $275 billion could be a big advantage, providing him a deep well of potential campaign contributions to draw from.
The USA TODAY Network-Florida analysis includes a map of where all the billionaires live, how much they gave and their net worth, along with details on some of the more notable donors.
More:See where DeSantis’ billionaire supporters live across the US with this interactive map
DeSantis has attracted a lot of attention over his feud with Disney, but his billionaire support shows he is heavily courting economic elites, raising questions about how they might influence his policy decisions.
As the governor collects billionaires like baseball cards, he continued to get his way with the Legislature this week during a special session on property insurance and also came under criticism from Democrats on the issue of guns, which again are in the spotlight after the horrific mass shooting at a Texas elementary school.
Florida Democrats are pushing for more changes to gun laws. U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, a Democratic running for governor, proposed expanded background checks and bans on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines for assault rifles and semi-automatic pistols.
Despite Republicans controlling nearly every lever of power in Florida, the state does have a recent history of expanding gun regulations. Lawmakers increased the age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21 in the wake of the 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, and also instituted a three-day waiting period for gun purchases.
There has been a backlash against those gun control measures, though, with the Nation Rifle Association fighting the minimum purchase age increase in court and conservatives pushing for less gun restrictions, including allowing people to carry guns without a concealed weapons permit.
DeSantis promised this year to pass a so-called “constitutional carry” bill before he leaves office, a pledge that is generating renewed attention after the Texas shooting.
“Before I am done as governor, we will have a signature on that bill,” DeSantis said.
Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, slammed the constitutional carry idea during a press conference this week at the Florida Capitol.
“What we don’t need is to move in the other direction to allow permitless carry, which could snowball into open carry in the state of Florida,” Smith said. “That will cost lives.”
Congress is expected to debate gun legislation in the wake of the school shooting, which will highlight the gun policy differences between Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Val Demings.
Rubio and Demings are sharply opposed on many issues, including abortion. Their contrasting views were highlighted this week when Demings attended an abortion-rights rally and Rubio spoke to a conservative group about his anti-abortion views.
Property insurance doesn’t generate the type of intense emotions that guns or abortion tend to elicit, but there was still some heated debate in the Legislature during a special session this week to tackle the state’s insurance crisis.
DeSantis called the session to try and stabilize a collapsing market.
Lawmakers delivered a bill that addresses some of the concerns raised by insurers. They shied away from promising big reductions in skyrocketing insurance rates, though, which could leave homeowners wondering if the bill goes far enough.
The Legislature also passed a bill aimed at preventing another condominium collapse in the wake of the Surfside disaster that killed 98 people.
DeSantis has been getting intense political pressure to act on property insurance and condominium reforms after lawmakers failed to pass bills during their regular 60-day session that ended in March.
The governor can now say he delivered on these issues, even as questions are likely to linger about whether enough has been done to address them.
That’s all for this week. Keep reading for this week’s top headlines in politics.
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Follow Herald-Tribune Political Editor Zac Anderson on Twitter at @zacjanderson. He can be reached at [email protected]
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