by Mary Lou Masters
Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are both set to appear at fundraising events in Palm Beach, Florida, this week for their respective campaigns as the race for the GOP primaries intensifies.
MAGA Inc., a political action committee campaigning for a second Trump administration, is hosting an event at Mar-a-Lago, and DeSantis is gathering a group of conservative donors and leaders for a retreat just eight minutes from Trump’s estate the next day, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Though the two continue to be neck-and-neck in GOP primary polling, the timing of the two events are not connected, those close to both fundraisers told the WSJ. Palm Beach has long since been an ideal area for donations, as a large swath of wealthy individuals reside there, according to the WSJ.
Trump and DeSantis reportedly have very different fundraising styles, with Trump largely getting money from “low-dollar donors online” and DeSantis relying on “high-dollar donors,” Terry Sullivan, who managed former presidential candidate Marco Rubio’s campaign in 2016, told the WSJ.
Trump will make an appearance at the PAC’s event on Thursday, and DeSantis’ weekend-long retreat will directly follow. The Gov.’s event comes just before his book release on Feb. 28 followed by a nationwide tour thereafter.
DeSantis raised $200 million for his second gubernatorial campaign last year, and has $70 million left over, the WSJ reported. Trump started the new year with $6.8 million in funds.
Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley are the only candidates officially in the race, and many expectDeSantis to hold off on announcing his candidacy until the legislative session ends in May.
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Mary Lou Masters is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Donald Trump” by Donald J. Trump. Photo “Governor Ron DeSantis” by Governor Ron DeSantis. Background Photo “Palm Beach, Florida” by Christopher Ziemnowicz. CC BY-SA 3.0.
