As Trump readies possible 2024 White House run, GOP megadonors back DeSantis, Youngkin, other Republicans – By Brian Schwartz (CNBC) / Nov 15, 2022
- Some of the nation’s wealthiest GOP donors have been eyeing Florida’s and Virginia’s Republican governors, Ron DeSantis and Glenn Youngkin, as more electable candidates for the White House.
- Trump has railed against the rising GOP stars as they steal away the party’s attention, and campaign donations, further driving away some of Trump’s most loyal backers.
- Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, who gave over $100 million in the midterms mainly toward Republicans running for state and federal races, recently told Politico that he would back DeSantis if he runs for president.
A growing group of Republican megadonors are backing a fresh crop of GOP presidential contenders for 2024 — even as Donald Trump readies his own likely bid for the White House — blaming the former U.S. president for the party’s lackluster performance in the midterms last week.
Some of the nation’s wealthiest GOP donors have been eyeing Florida’s and Virginia’s Republican governors, Ron DeSantis and Glenn Youngkin, as more rational — and more importantly, electable — candidates for the White House in 2024. Although neither man has formally announced his candidacy, they have both started to put in place the fundraising teams and infrastructure that would be necessary to explore a presidential bid.
Trump has railed against the rising GOP stars as they steal away the party’s attention, and campaign donations, further driving away some of Trump’s most loyal backers.
“I’m not going to give (Trump) a f—ing nickel,” said New York-based businessperson Andy Sabin, who donated $120,000 toward Trump’s failed 2020 reelection bid. Sabin contributed $55,000 this year to a pro-DeSantis PAC, Friends of Ron DeSantis, which supported the Florida governor’s successful bid for reelection, according to state campaign finance records. And he plans to back DeSantis if he jumps into the next race for president.
