DeSantis Raises $1 Million in First Hour of Presidential Candidacy

Republican gubernatorial candidate for Florida Ron DeSantis with his wife Casey DeSantis speaks during an election night watch party at the Convention Center in Tampa, Fla., on Nov. 8, 2022. Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis raised $1 million within one hour of formally announcing his presidential candidacy, according to his campaign.

DeSantis announced his 2024 run for president on May 24 during a Twitter Spaces interview with the social media platform’s owner Elon Musk. But the interview was plagued by technical problems as Twitter’s web servers repeatedly crashed.

“There was so much enthusiasm for Governor DeSantis’ vision for our Great American Comeback that he literally busted up the internet,” DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin said in a Twitter post. “Washington is next. $1 million raised online in one hour ... and counting!”

The technical issues, according to Desantis’ campaign manager Generra Peck, were caused by the sheer number of people trying to tune in to the interview.

“Just got off the phone with @elonmusk + @DavidSacks – heard behind the scenes details from Twitter as they handled the nearly 1 million people trying to get into the Spaces room,” she revealed on Twitter after the interview had concluded.

“They had more than 700k in the room to start with hundreds of thousands trying to get in ... had to relocate the room,” she added, urging supporters to donate and “help us break WinRed too.”

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Hours before the announcement, DeSantis filed the formal notification of his campaign with the Federal Election Commission.

The announcement follows months of speculation over whether he would enter the race and challenge former President Donald Trump, his ally-turned-rival, for the Republican nomination.

According to the latest RealClearPolitics average, Trump holds a significant lead in the Republican primary field, carrying 56 percent of the vote—a 37-point advantage over DeSantis, who has consistently polled in second place.

The Florida governor will look to reverse a downward trend in support he has seen since late March, when Trump’s controversial indictment by a New York grand jury boosted the 45^th president in the polls.

Other declared Republican contenders include South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, conservative talk show host Larry Elder, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who announced his bid on May 22.

Trump reacted to the latest additions to the field on Truth Social, writing: “Tim Scott’s Presidential launch, even with the broken microphone (don’t pay the contractor, Tim!), was by far the best Presidential launch of the week. Robs was a catastrophe!”

“Rob” is one of several nicknames Trump has assigned DeSantis in recent months.

DeSantis, on the other hand, has largely avoided criticizing Trump, save for a few subtle digs here and there.

With his candidacy now official, however, Republican voters will likely be watching closely in the coming months to see if and how that dynamic changes.